


A Hearts Desire

by Swanqueen7928



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Swan-Mills Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 03:20:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 54,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9859814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swanqueen7928/pseuds/Swanqueen7928
Summary: This story is A/U. Regina is a high profiled Forensic Anthropologist and Emma is a Paramedic. These women are complete opposites but they do say opposites attract. Could a beautiful blonde with her own damaged past thaw the ice queens heart and make her believe that true love really does exist.





	1. Chapter 1

Regina climbed out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. She glanced to the bed to see her latest conquest still asleep and sighed, she wondered would it always be like this. She stopped just shy of the door leading into the en-suite and contemplated skipping the shower, but looking over to the bed she noticed that in this lighting and with sober eyes the man in her bed wasn't nearly as good looking as she thought. She pushed the door open, turned on the shower and undressed before climbing in. As soon as the hot water hit her body she immediately relaxed, Regina grabbed a bottle of shampoo from the shelf and began washing her hair, the scent of apples filled the bathroom and Regina's hangover started to subside.

Ten minutes passed and she decided it was time to face the world, grabbing a towel Regina walked back into her bedroom. She expected to see "what's his name" still sleeping but instead she was greeted with an empty bed and a note left on her pillow "had to run, thanks for a great night". Regina couldn't believe it that's another fuck and chuck she could add to her list, she didn't know what she was doing wrong, she had always been told she was mind blowing in bed. Maybe that was the problem what if she weren't interesting enough and sex was all she was good for.

Regina decided to get ready for her day, it was her first day off in nearly 13 days and she had planned to spend it with her sister and nephew. Regina dropped the towel, opened the drawer of her bedside cabinet and pulled out some underwear. She slid on the black silk panties, and clasped the matching bra around her breasts. Regina walked to the back of her wardrobe to find something to wear she settled on a faded pair of black, skin tight jeans and a purple blouse. She pulled up the jeans jumping up and down a few times to get them all the way up, she then slipped on the blouse and tucked it into the jeans. Regina always prided herself on her appearance, she glanced to her reflection in the full length mirror and gave a nod of approval. She walked back into her bedroom, sat down in front of her dressing table and ran her hands through her hair, since having it cut a few weeks ago it takes very little time to dry. When suffering from a hangover Regina rarely wore make up but today she decided she would make an effort, she drew on some liquid eyeliner and then added some mascara. Just as Regina finished getting dressed her phone vibrated, it was a text off David.

How was last night? I'm guessing that's another notch on the bed post, the way you've been going lately your bed should come with a health warning. Just kidding, meet me at the rabbit hole later because I want all the dirty details. xxx

Regina thought about replying to the text but as she would be seeing David in a few hours she decided she could fill him in then. Deciding to skip breakfast Regina made her way downstairs, grabbed a jacket and a pair of shoes before she headed to the door. Driving to her sister's the text off David played on her mind, had she really been getting around as much as he said. After a twenty-minute drive she pulled up outside her sisters, Regina stepped out of the car and made her way to her sister's garden, she opened the gate, closed it and as she turned around she was knocked over by a big brown ball of fur. "Rusty it's me, why do you insist on attacking me every time I visit, one of these days I'm going to make a hot dog out of you" she warned.

Rusty licked her face, wagged his tail and retreated back inside the house. Regina shook her head and decided she was never going to get a pet.

Regina stood up just as Bailey come running out of the front door and made his way to Regina. "Aunty Gina, mummy told me you were coming to see me and I've been waiting ages. Why you take so long" he huffed. Regina scooped Bailey up in her arms, gave the three-year old a big kiss and blew raspberries all over his little red cheeks. To every other person Regina seemed cold, rigid and pretty much heartless but in her line of work she learnt it was the best way to be. When it came to Bailey though Regina was the complete opposite and she doted on the little boy.

Regina put Bailey down on the floor and ruffled his long brown hair. This kid really needed a haircut, Regina decided she would take him on her next day off. "Sorry darling, I was being lazy and didn't want to leave my nice warm cocoon."

"Aunty Gina that's a funny thing to say, caperpillars live in coons not people and then after the caperpillar has been sleeping for a long time it turns into a beautiful flutterby" he explained.

Regina stared down at her nephew and was genuinely interested. Even though his vocabulary wasn't the best it was better than most three year olds, Bailey was very bright for his age. "You're too smart for your own good kid. Maybe one day you could follow in my footsteps and go into the science industry and become an entomologist."

Regina started walking to the house and looked behind her to see Bailey was trying his hardest to get his little feet to copy her movements. Regina stopped and turned around. "What are you doing buddy?" she asked.

"You said I could follow in your footsteps so that's what I'm doing." Regina couldn't help but laugh, this kid was such a character. Bailey looked up at Regina with his dark brown eyes which were so much like her own. Bailey scratched his head "Aunty Gina what's a emtomologest?"

"An entomologist is a very smart person who studies insects" she explained. Regina watched as Bailey screwed up his face and then smiled. She guessed he was considering what that actually meant. Bailey grabbed Regina's hand and they walked into the kitchen to find Regina's sister brewing a pot of coffee. "A cup of coffee is just what I need right now."

Regina's sister handed her a cup of coffee, picked Bailey up and placed him on his chair. "I'm glad you're finally here, this one has been driving me crazy since he got up. So how was last night?" Zelena asked.

Zelena grabbed a bag of crisps and an apple for Bailey. "Why do you insist on giving him green apples, he much prefers Red apples."

"How many time do I have to tell you that Red apples are so sickly sweet" Zelena stated.

"Well Green Apples are nothing but bitter "she argued.

Before Zelena could even think of something to say she was interrupted.

"Mummy I'm going to be an Emtomologest when I'm big."

"Sweetie it's an entomologist and I thought you wanted to be an astronaut?" Zelena questioned.

Bailey huffed "Mummy don't be silly I can be both, Aunty Gina always tells me I'm smart."

Regina looked at Bailey and couldn't stop herself from laughing. "Aunty Gina why you laugh at me, you always say I am smart."

Regina felt bad she didn't mean to laugh it was just so cute of him to think he could do both jobs. Children have the wildest imaginations she missed how carefree it was being a child, the only thing that mattered was going out to play with your friends and watching cartoons on a Saturday, oh how things change.

"Darling you are the smartest three-year old I've ever met and I will let you in on a little secret you're smarter than most adults too. I was only laughing because nobody knows if there are actually bugs in space so you can't do both of those jobs" she explained.

Bailey shook his head and proudly stated "there are no bugs in space now but there might be when I'm big like you, Mummy always tells me that anything is possible."

Zelena opened the bag of crisps and handed them to Bailey. "Why don't you go and eat these in the living room so we can have some adult time" she suggested. Regina kissed Bailey on the forehead, picked him up and carried him to the living room. She turned the TV on, grabbed the remote and pressed 611. "Aunty Gina my favourite show is on how did you know; will you watch it with me" he squealed. Regina really wanted to spend some one on one time with her nephew but she knew she wouldn't hear the end of it from her sister. Zelena would likely think Regina was trying to avoid discussing her latest antics so she decided it was not a good idea, she kissed Bailey on the head, slowly walked out of the living room and glanced back to see his eyes hadn't even left the screen.

Regina walked back to the kitchen, sat down and slowly sipped her coffee. Zelena slapped her arm "are we actually going to discuss what you got up to last night?" she asked.

Regina took a big sip of her coffee and stood up "I came here to spend some time with you and Bailey, my life choices are exactly that MY choices. I don't quite understand why everyone has such a problem with me picking up guys in bars and taking them home" she snapped.

Regina started to walk away when Zelena grabbed her wrist and sighed "Gina I know you're big enough to make your own choices but one day those choices are going to end up with you bound and gagged in some guy's basement. You're not a teenager anymore, I understand that what you went through destroyed you and you feel like it's easier this way but you've got to open yourself up, you need to drop some of those walls you have guarding your heart or you will end up alone."

Regina could feel the tears starting to form, she tried her hardest to stop them and like always she succeeded.

"Zelena I understand that you're only being a big sister and looking out for me and believe me I appreciate it but I'm a grown woman. I'm one of the smartest women in this country and sometimes it's nice to be reckless and stupid from time to time."

Regina stormed off into the living room and sat down next to Bailey." Hey buddy can I get a kiss; I've got to go" She sighed

Bailey climbed up onto her lap, wrapped his little arms around her neck and kissed her cheek. No matter how bad Regina was feeling this little boy could always make her feel better.

"See you later, I love you to the moon and back "he giggled.

Bailey climbed off Regina's lap and went back to watching the TV. Regina didn't even bother saying goodbye to Zelena, she just got up and left. She climbed into her car, pulled out her phone and sent a text to David.

I will give you all the details when I see you.

Any chance you're ready to meet now? Just got into it with Zelena and I need you to tell me I'm not crazy. xxx

Regina started the engine and made her way across town to The Rabbit Hole, she knew David would meet her there eventually so she decided to order some food hopefully having a bite to eat would help with her hangover.

No matter what was going on in his own life Regina knew she could always count on David to be by her side when she needed him. After meeting at the age of 5 when David's father had moved in next door to Regina they had become best friends. They had been together through everything, parent's divorces, deaths, arguments, heartbreaks the lot and she honestly couldn't imagine not having him in her life. Regina walked to the bar, ordered herself and David some food and drinks. Regina walked over to her regular table just as David walked through the door. "Regina you look rough, so what happened after I left then?" he asked.

Regina took a sip of her drink and sighed "nothing exciting happened, we went back to mine had half decent sex and went to sleep. When I got out of the shower this morning he had left so same old same old."

"Gina you need to understand when I say this it's not to hurt you. You need to stop picking up random strangers and start concentrating on yourself. With everything you went through last year you need to get yourself better and I only say this because I love you."

Regina couldn't believe he had just said that. "I know you're only saying this because you love me but you've got to remember I was the one who went through it nobody else. How I choose to live my life because of it that's up to me, so you need to back off" she snapped.

David placed his hand on Regina's and tried to explain "Regina we understand people have different ways of coping with things we're just worried about you that's all. We all love you and have watched how much you have changed since last year and not all of it is good. I wish you had gone to see someone instead of burying your feelings."

Before Regina could say anything her phone started ringing, she looked at the number and groaned "Mills."

"Mills, it's James. We need you to meet us at Victoria station we've got a murder."

Regina rolled her eyes and sighed "It's supposed to be my day off can't you lot run this one without me, actually don't worry ring the rest of my team and tell them to grab my kit I will be there in ten."

Regina hung the phone up and stood up. "I've got to go David, you should feel lucky I love you otherwise I would be dragging you and August into work but I know you two haven't spent any time together in nearly three months. Ring him and get him to meet you and he can have my food. I will give you a call when I'm home."

Regina climbed into her car, turned the radio on and drove to the crime scene.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Short mention of Miscarriage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Short mention of Miscarriage

Emma entered the hospital ready to start her night shift. It was 6:00pm and after having a couple of days off she was looking forward to getting her hands dirty. She walked into the locker room, opened her locker and grabbed her uniform. She kicked off her trainers, pulled off her hoody and jeans and was just about to put her uniform on when the door to the locker room opened.

"Shake that arse, good to have you back Swan we've missed having some eye candy around here" Killian joked.

Emma slammed her hand into the locker "Killian if you ever look at my arse again I will make your death look like an accident" she warned.

Emma's partner Ruby walked out of the shower and slapped Killian on the back of the head. "When Emma does murder you I will be the person to help her drag your corpse across the floor and get rid of the evidence."

Killian looked between Emma and Ruby and muttered "I'm a little worried that the pair of you aren't even fazed about committing a murder."

Emma finished putting her uniform on, walked over to Killian and wrapped her arms around his neck "everyone is capable of murder Killian just bare that in mind."

Killian walked off towards the showers and Emma finished getting ready. "Won't that dude ever give up on trying to get into my pants" she huffed.

"Come on Em, you're very hot of course he wants to get into your pants."

"Ruby I wouldn't sleep with him even if he was the last man on earth."

Ruby pulled her long dark hair into a tight bun "of course you wouldn't sleep with him if he was the last man on Earth Em, you're a LESBIAN" she joked.

Emma picked her phone up, turned it off and chucked it into her locker. Emma walked out of the locker room and Ruby followed her. "How about we go grab a coffee before we start our shift." Ruby suggested.

Emma and Ruby started to walk to the coffee cart on the third floor, it was the only coffee in the whole hospital that didn't taste like sewer water. Ruby walked behind Emma slowly and Emma could feel her eyes burning into the back of her head. Emma turned around, grabbed Ruby's arm and pulled her into a nearby corridor. "What is it?" Emma asked.

Ruby dropped her head and looked away. Emma knew something important was bothering Ruby but she couldn't figure out what. Emma didn't really connect with many people, growing up in foster care she found it difficult to let people in because the moment she opened up to someone they left her. She learnt from a very early age that people always leave, but when Emma was placed with a set of foster parents that lived next door to Ruby's grandmother that all changed. Emma and Ruby hit it off straight away and Emma felt like Ruby was the one person she could truly open up to. From day one they were inseparable and thirteen years of friendship hadn't changed that.

Emma placed her hand under Ruby's chin and gently lifted her head. "Ruby whatever it is you can tell me; I doubt it is as bad as you think."

Emma could see Ruby's eyes had glassed over and that's when she knew it must be bad because Ruby never cried. When they were younger they watched Lion King for the first time, Emma sobbed like a baby when Scar killed Mufasa and Ruby didn't even shed a tear. It had been like a little game for them ever since, Emma would try and find films she knew would make Ruby cry and so far she hadn't succeeded. Ruby wiped her eyes, looked up at Emma and muttered "I've been sleeping with Neal."

Emma didn't even know what to say. Of all the people in the world all 7 billion of them Ruby had to pick Neal to sleep with. It wasn't the fact that Emma still had feelings for him, heck she was as gay as they came but her and Neal had been through so much together. He was her first and only boyfriend, they had met a few years after she met Ruby and the three of them became the three musketeer's. It was complicated though because Neal's father didn't want him associating with a sewer rat like her, Neal was from a wealthy family who liked to keep a good image in the community and their son dating a foster child did not come under that. Emma and Neal dated from the age of 13 to the day of Emma's 16th Birthday. On Emma's 16th birthday they had decided to lose their virginity to each other and did just that, everything was going great until Neal's father walked in on them and dragged Emma out by her hair. That was the last Emma seen of Neal, his father sent him away to some boarding school. Emma decided to completely get rid of all traces of him, well that was until 8 weeks later when she was sat on the edge of the bath with a positive pregnancy test in her hand. Emma decided to track Neal down and let him know she was pregnant and was planning on keeping the baby but she never got the chance. She booked her 12-week scan and was so excited to see her little miracle on the screen, her and Ruby talked about names the whole way to the hospital with Ruby insisting it be named after her if it was a girl.

Emma sat on the hospital bed and watched the nurse place the cold gel on her stomach and move the ultrasound probe around checking if the baby was growing properly and that everything was okay. After 5 minutes Emma watched the nurses face turn white and Emma knew something was wrong, the nurse stood up and left the room returning with a doctor, he checked the monitor and informed Emma that she had miscarried. Emma was then told that she should go home, rest and if she experienced severe pain she would need to go back to be checked out. Emma had coped rather well with this loss but she had guessed she was used to bad things happening. Emma and Ruby had never discussed the baby or Neal again well that was until Emma's 20th Birthday. Neal had returned home and tried to explain everything to Emma. Emma told Neal she was a lesbian and that they should leave the past in the past. After a couple months of grovelling Emma decided her and Neal could be friends again well at least try.

Everything Emma and Neal had been through went spinning through her head, as much as she tried to stop it she couldn't and she just exploded. "Ruby what the hell do you mean you've been sleeping with Neal; I don't quite understand how you thought that sleeping with him would be a wise idea. You were the one to pick up the pieces when he left me, I really can't believe you would do this to me, I thought you was my friend."

Emma pushed Ruby out of the way and stormed down the corridor. Emma always thought Ruby had her back but maybe she never did and only ever wanted Neal well she could fucking have him, if he's worth losing thirteen years of friendship over then that was fine. Emma stopped, shook her head and turned around she couldn't walk away from Ruby, not only were they friends but Ruby was her family, hell she was the only family Emma had. She hadn't even given Ruby a chance to explain, Emma had always been hot headed her motto was punch first ask questions later but with Ruby they had always discussed things first.

Emma walked back up the corridor to find Ruby sitting on the floor crying. "You must feel bad if you're crying or have you finally figured out you have feelings for me? It's okay I totally understand but I think I'd be too much for you to handle" Emma joked.

Ruby stood up, wrapped her arms around Emma's neck and sobbed. "Em I'm so sorry I tried not to fall in love with him but it just happened I guess."

Emma pushed Ruby back, slapped the top of her head and pulled out the picture she kept in her uniform. It was a picture of her and Ruby when they were about 10, it was Halloween and they were dressed up as Batman and Robin, they thought they were so cool and Emma convinced Ruby to wear their costumes every day for nearly two weeks that was until Granny literally dragged it off them in their sleep.

"Ruby I didn't realise you were in love with him, that's a whole different thing. You can't help who you fall in love with and I for one know that's very true. See this picture Rub, I carry it around with me because you mean the world to me and even though you hated dressing up as Robin you did it for me because we're sisters. If you love Neal then you go for it, what the hell am I going to do with him he's attached to a penis."

Emma put the picture back in her uniform, hugged Ruby and whispered in her ear "I'm going to warn you now though, if he hurts you I will cut his dick off with a rusty knife."

Ruby looked at Emma and smiled, knowing Emma for so long she knew that she wouldn't hesitate in carrying out her threat. When they were 16 they gate crashed a college party and a boy got a bit heavy handed with Ruby so Emma broke his jaw and left arm.

Ruby checked her watch and huffed "come on then Em we better get to work."

Emma and Ruby walked down to the ambulance bay, Ruby grabbed the keys and unlocked the ambulance. Ruby climbed into the driver's seat and Emma hopped into the passenger's seat. Their first shout was a three car pileup on a country road. When they arrived Emma didn't expect to see such chaos, there were three ambulances, two fire engines and three police cars. Two cars seemed to be pretty damaged but nothing major, the drivers and their passengers were already in the ambulances ready to be taken to the hospital. The third car, the car that looked like the cause of the accident had three passengers, a woman and her two children. The firefighters had gotten the two children out and were in the middle of cutting out the mother. Emma knew that Ruby didn't really handle scared children. "Ruby you go tend to the mother and I will check the kids out."

Ruby placed her hand on Emma's shoulder and squeezed it "thanks Em."

Ruby walked over to the car whilst Emma made her way over to the children. Emma kneeled down in front of the little girl

"Hi my name's Emma, I'm a paramedic. What's your name?" Emma asked.

The little girl stepped back from Emma and pulled her brother with her. Emma could tell she was shy but she guessed it was more than likely she was in shock. Emma decided she would try with the little boy instead and then maybe his sister would warm up to her.

"Hey sweetie, what's your name?"

The little boy stumbled towards Emma and tried to climb up on her lap. The little girl looked up at Emma.

"My name's Riley and my brother's name is Toby, he's too little to speak like me. Is my mummy going to be okay? She didn't mean to crash it was an accident, I was being naughty and she looked back to tell me to be quiet and she hit the car" she sobbed.

Emma picked up Toby, placed him on her hip and did the same to Riley. Over the years she spent in foster care Emma dealt with many upset children and she always knew how to calm them down it was sort of like a talent. Emma rocked them back and forth until Riley stopped crying then she placed them back on the floor. "Riley can you tell me if it hurts anywhere?"

Riley shook her head and Toby did the same. Emma knew that Toby couldn't tell her if anything actual hurt but he wasn't crying or holding any part of his body. Emma gave them a once over and made sure to have the paediatric nurses check them out fully when they arrived at the hospital.

Emma looked over to the car to see Ruby placing a cervical collar around their mother's neck and stabilising her spine. Emma walked over to the car with the children in tow, she helped Ruby place the woman on the stretcher. As they started to walk towards the ambulance the mother coded, Ruby managed to bring her back but just as they were about to lift her onto the ambulance she coded again. Emma tried to drag the children away but the little girl insisted on staying close. Ruby looked over to Emma and shook her head letting her know there was nothing more she could do. When Ruby finally called time of death the little girl fell to the floor and screamed for her mummy, Emma knew that sound would haunt her for the rest of her life. Emma knew that Toby wouldn't remember any of this horrible ordeal but it's very likely he wouldn't remember his mother either and that saddened her. Emma had always tried to keep her distance from patients and their families because she thought it would be easier that way. Out of the nine others in the accident two died, three needed emergency surgery and four came off with only slight injuries.

When they got back to the hospital she waited till social services arrived so she could hand them over. Riley tried her hardest to put up a fight not to go with the woman from social services and told Emma she was waiting till her mummy was ready to go home. It broke Emma's heart but she took the little girl to the waiting area and explained that her mummy had gone to heaven and she wouldn't be able to go home. Riley looked up to Emma and said she understood because her daddy was in heaven too. Social services had found a set of grandparents that would take the children in.

Since becoming a paramedic nearly 4 years ago Emma had seen some pretty bad things and she always managed to stay professional but with this case staying professional was harder than she expected. Emma decided she would go have a lie down before she was needed again.

"Ruby do you mind if I go lie down, I'm feeling pretty exhausted" Emma sighed.

"As much as I would love to let you have a lie down we've been called to a murder outside Victoria Station."

Emma raised her eyebrows and looked at Ruby. "What do you mean we've been called to a murder? The last time I checked we were paramedics and dealt with the living. I heard the moneys great for being a coroner but dealing with dead bodies day in and day out is not for me."

Ruby shook her head and slapped Emma's arm. "Do you always need to be such a sarcastic arse. There are two dead bodies but also one living so that's where we come into it." Ruby explained.

Emma and Ruby walked back to the ambulance and climbed in this time Emma decided it was her turn to drive. Driving always cleared her head and right now Emma really need a clear head. Ruby looked over to Emma and she was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"What's got you so happy, a few minutes ago you had a face like a smacked arse so come on spill."

Emma didn't expect Ruby wouldn't understand why she was so happy but she didn't care. "I've always wanted to see a murdered body and I finally get to."

"Em as much as I hate to say this I can't wait to see one either."

"That's why you're my best friend Ruby."

Emma and Ruby pulled up outside Victoria Station and couldn't contain their excitement. "Come on then Em lets go and try not to throw up that wouldn't go down well with the Ice Queen." Ruby climbed out of the ambulance, walked over to the crime scene and left Emma wondering who the Ice Queen was.


	3. Chapter 3

Regina pulled up outside the crime scene, stopped the car and stepped out. She chucked her keys to a young brunette "park my car somewhere in the shade and return my keys to me" she ordered.

The young brunette just stood there not quite believing what had just happened, she was a police officer not a Valet. Regina walked over to the young woman and clicked her fingers "hello anyone in there, I asked you to do something so hop to it."

Regina walked over to where there was a group of police officers, she could hear them whispering about her. Regina wasn't fazed by the whispers she actually felt pretty flattered that they felt the need to talk about her. Regina barged through the police officers and made her way to the area just before the crime scene. Her team had already cordoned it off and had started collecting evidence. Regina's assistant came running over to her "so Sydney what's the situation?" she asked.

"Well boss we've got the skeletal remains of a male age between 30-40 years old, clear signs of head trauma and there's also the body of a female approximately 16 years old."

"Did the female sustain the same injuries as the male?" Regina questioned.

Sydney glanced over his shoulder towards the crime scene Regina could see he had started sweating much more than usual.

"Mr Glass when I ask you a question I expect an answer or some form of communication that you don't know but will do your best to find out. So I will ask you again, did the female sustain the same injuries."

"Well…that's…difficult…to…determine."

"Sydney you studied under me and I'm quite sure you're more than competent enough to determine if there is a head wound" she snapped.

Sydney stood up straight, threw his shoulders back "Yes boss I'm very capable of establishing if there is a head wound but I can only do that if there is actually a head."

Regina placed her hand on her hips, paced back and forth the injuries of the victims sounded very familiar and she couldn't work out why. After a few minutes of racking her brain and checking old case files on her tablet it finally came to her. Regina placed her tablet back into her bag. "Sydney was there a young girl alive but unconscious found by the bodies?" she questioned.

The look on Sydney's face told her everything she needed to know. Regina walked over to the crime scene and was shocked by what she came across. There was an athletic, blonde woman knelt in front of the young girl. "Who the hell is contaminating my crime scene?" she yelled.

The young blonde stood up and turned around, Regina realised she was a paramedic but that still didn't give her the right to step past the crime scene tape. The blonde stormed over to Regina and climbed over the crime scene tape.

"What do you mean contaminating a crime scene, do you not see there is an injured teen in your crime scene."

Emma was infuriated by the fact the woman in front of her had not even an ounce of concern for the injured girl and only seemed to be worried about her crime scene. Emma understand that the girl could give them some vital evidence needed to solve this case but Emma's only concern was to give the girl medical attention and get her to the hospital. Emma stopped a few inches away from the woman who was yelling at her, she was ready to give her a piece of her mind but when she actually came face to face with her that all went out of the window. Emma was a sucker for a pretty lady and the woman in front of her was the prettiest lady she'd ever laid eyes on. Emma eyes roamed over the length of the woman's body. The woman in front of her stood at about 5 feet and 4 inches, she had shoulder length brown hair, incredible golden brown eyes that Emma could get lost in, a set of luscious red lips that had a deep scar above it and Emma subconsciously licked her lips at the thought of tracing the scar with her tongue.

There was something so intriguing about this woman, Emma got lost in her thoughts but that didn't last long as she was soon interrupted. "Would you care to explain why you were contaminating my crime scene?"

"Emma Swan."

"Excuse me dear, what is Emma Swan?"

Emma couldn't think straight the woman in front of her had her all flustered.

"My name, my name is Emma Swan."

"That's all well and good dear but I have no interest in your name, I was merely asking why you were contaminating my crime scene"

This woman was rather cold hearted maybe she was the ice queen Ruby had mentioned. "I just thought when people first meet they tend to introduce themselves or am I wrong?" Emma questioned.

Regina looked Emma up and down, smiled and held her hand out. "Regina Mills, I would say it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Swan, but as you're stopping me from investigating my crime scene it's far from a pleasure. Now would you care to explain to me what gave you the right to step past the boundaries set out and potentially contaminate the crime scene?"

As they shook hands, Emma felt something between them a sort of spark. The first thing Emma thought was sexual tension, but still, the feeling felt different. Regina must have felt it to because she pulled her hand away almost immediately.

"Nice to meet you Regina. The reason I stepped past the boundaries is like I said before not only is there two dead victims, there is also one that is very much alive and it is my duty to give her medical attention" Emma stated. Regina had to hand it to Emma she had balls, not many people have gone up against her and the ones that did well they transferred or quit. "Miss Swan that woman may need medical attention but she is also evidence."

Emma couldn't believe the audacity of this woman was she really that cold that all she cared about was the fact this woman was evidence. "No disrespect but she is a human being and I need to check her over and get her to the hospital."

This woman was like a dog with a bone, Regina knew in the end she would get her own way but this woman was putting up one hell of a fight.

"Miss Swan I'm well aware that she is a human being. Once I've had her clothes bagged, her fingernails scraped and her mouth swabbed for DNA, then and only then you may take her to the hospital, do I make myself clear?"

Emma didn't really want to give in but she knew the longer she argued with this woman the longer it would be until she could get the victim to the hospital. "Fine Regina you go and do what you need to do and once you're finished I will take that poor girl to the hospital."

Regina couldn't help but smirk she knew that Emma would back down. "Thank you Miss Swan but I would prefer if you would refrain from using my first name and stick with Miss Mills."

Regina walked over to the rest of her team. She grabbed a crime scene suit and shoe covers from her kit and put them on before stepping into the crime scene. Regina's team was working hard making sure to collect every item of evidence. She was always proud of how well her team handled each case but she would never actually tell any of them. When she decided to open her own forensic company she knew she would need the best of the best. She had 7 members of staff each with their own area of expertise. Belle French is a Forensic document examiner; Mary-Margaret Blanchard is a Ballistic, Firearm and tool marks expert, Archie Hooper is a Forensic Entomologist, Sydney Glass is a Forensic Anthropologist, Graham Humbert is a Forensic photographer, David Nolan who is a Fingerprint Analyst . Katherine Gold and August Booth who are the Forensic Artists.

Regina walked over to the set of remains, knelt down next to it and brushed some debris off the skull. "The nasal aperture is long and narrow which indicate the victim is Caucasian. Sydney note the Perimortem fractures to the nasal bone and upper left central and lateral incisors are also fractured this could suggest he was attacked by a right handed assailant" Regina explained.

Regina didn't really think she needed to hire a Forensic Anthropologist as she was the UK's foremost Anthropologist but David told her she should really hire one because it's always good to have a second opinion. Regina was reluctant at first but after going over nearly 100 applications, Sydney was the one who stood out the most and he had been a great asset to her team.

Sydney knelt down next to Regina and examined the body. "Boss there's ligature marks on his radial, scaphoid and trapezium."

"Very well spotted Sydney, what does this tell us?" Regina questioned.

"It suggests that the victim was bound."

Regina stood up and without realising she glanced towards the ambulance where Emma and her partner was sat waiting. Regina walked over to the young girl and knelled in front of her. "Hello, do you know what your name is?" she questioned. The girl didn't say anything she just shook her head. Regina looked back to see Emma had started walking towards the crime scene.

Emma noticed that Regina had made her way over to the young girl and Emma started to feel very protective over this girl. After speaking to Regina for less than five minutes Emma knew she was not the nicest person and she didn't want her to scare the poor girl. When Emma got to the crime scene she noticed that Regina had placed her hand on the young girl's knee. Emma decided not to storm in all guns blazing she just stood and watched.

"That's okay if you don't know your name. You've likely been through something traumatic and that can mess with a person. If you don't know your name, do you know who this man and girl was?"

The girl started rocking back and forth "Mike and Kelly, he made me do it I didn't want to but he said he would hurt my little girl if I didn't help him" she sobbed.

Regina stood up and wrapped her arms around the girl and Emma couldn't believe it, maybe she wasn't as heartless as she made out. "It's okay, we know it wasn't your fault. Do you know the last name of Mike and Kelly?"

The girl shook her head again. "I only know that Mike was Kelly's dad and he had them for nearly two months."

For someone who didn't know her own name this girl was giving them quite a lot of important information. "Sydney go and tell the detectives that the victims were father and daughter, they have been missing about two months and their names are Mike and Kelly." Regina walked over to her kit, pulled out a jacket and walked back over to the girl. Regina wrapped the jacket around the girl and helped her stand up. "How about we go over to that ambulance so I can take your clothes and do some tests that might help us work out who you are and what happened to you."

The girl nodded and held on to Regina's arm. Regina looked up to see Emma was stood outside the crime scene. "Miss Swan if you don't mind I thought it would be a wise idea if I took the victims clothes and swabbed her for DNA in the back of your ambulance."

Emma was very surprised Regina had decided to do this. "The back of the ambulance would you give you enough privacy and might make her feel more comfortable so of course I don't mind Regina."

Regina glared at Emma and she knew that she shouldn't have pushed it by calling her Regina again. "I'm sorry, I mean Miss Mills."

Regina looked at Emma and smiled. Regina didn't know what was happening to her but the woman in front of her didn't get under her skin as much as other people. Emma wrapped her arm around the girl's waist and brushed Regina's hip. Regina's cheeks turned a dark crimson and Emma couldn't help but notice how cute she looked all embarrassed. Emma and Regina helped the young girl to the back of the ambulance. Regina realised she hadn't bought any evidence bags, swabs or a fingernail scraping kit. "Shit" Regina muttered.

Emma knew she had forgotten the stuff she needed and she kind of wanted to spend some time with Regina, even though it was a horrible situation she would take what she could get. "If you tell Ruby what you need she will run over and grab it for you."

"Emma last time I checked I was a paramedic and not a personal assistant."

"Miss Swan I'm more than capable of getting the stuff I need" Regina snapped.

Emma was only trying to do a nice thing even if there was an ulterior motive behind it. "Regina I wasn't implying you were incapable but I know that when someone has been through a traumatic experience they sort of imprint on someone and by the way she's holding onto you, you're that person" Emma explained.

"Write down what you need and I will give it to one of your squints and bring it back to you."

Regina knew that Emma was talking sense so much that she didn't correct her about using her first name. Regina handed Ruby the list. "Thank you, I'm sorry I don't know your name."

Ruby held out her hand and Regina shook it. "It's okay and my name's Ruby, nice to meet you Regina."

Emma was expecting Regina to call Ruby on using her first name but she never did. Ruby walked out of the ambulance leaving Regina and Emma to make small talk whilst trying to figure out who this girl was. "So Regina where did you grow up?" Emma questioned.

"Excuse me Miss Swan that's rather personal."

"Okay well I will go first; I've lived pretty much everywhere you see being a foster kid does that to you. One good thing about being a foster kid though is you get to see loads of different places without having to pay" Emma joked.

Regina had never met anyone so open and she was sort of intrigued to find out more about Emma. She knew that if she wanted to find out more she needed to let her guard down a little. "I was born and raised in Staffordshire and then I moved to London for University."

Emma looked over at the girl "what about you, where did you grow up?"

She smiled like she was remembering some happy family memories. "I grew up in Wales and moved to London with my grandparents when I was 15."

Ruby walked back into the ambulance and handed Regina her kit. "Can I point out something Regina you look like a giant condom in that suit" Ruby laughed.

Emma slapped Ruby's arm "Sorry, she didn't mean that Regina she doesn't think before she speaks."

"Miss Swan, I would appreciate if you could stay professional."

Emma walked out of the ambulance and slammed the door that woman was so bloody confusing. Regina didn't quite understand why Emma had reacted that way but right now she didn't have time to worry about anyone's feelings expect the girl in front of her. She pulled on a pair of gloves and helped the girl take off her clothes and placed them in an evidence bag. Regina was shocked at all the bruises and scars all over the girl's body. She handed the girl a paper suit resembling her own and the girl started laughing when she put it on. Regina took scrapings from under the girl's fingernails and swabbed her mouth for DNA. "Hopefully this will help find out who you are and we will also check the missing person's data base when we get back to the lab."

Emma opened the door to the ambulance and climbed back in. She checked the girl over but couldn't see any serious injuries, most of them were pretty old. "How about we get you to the hospital then sweetie and we can get you some food, clean clothes and hopefully find your family. The police will be by to take your statement later but don't worry we won't leave you on your own."

"Regina will you stay with me?" the girl asked.

As much as Regina would like to she knew the best place for her to be is the lab so she can hopefully figure out what happened and find out who this girl is. "I'm sorry but I've got to get back to work but I promise when I have a break I will come and see you in the hospital is that okay?"

"I suppose; Emma will you stay with me instead?" she questioned.

Regina looked at Emma and smiled, that smile melted Emma's heart so of course she couldn't say no. "Of course. I will stay by your side until Miss Mills arrives sweetie."

Regina grabbed Emma's arm and pulled her out of the ambulance. Emma was rather confused by what was going on. "Thank you for reassuring her Emma, do you mind if I give you my phone number so you can call me if anything changes with her."

Emma started doing a dance in her head, she got Regina's number without needing to ask for it. Regina didn't know why she felt the need to give Emma her number, she could always ring the hospital to find anything out.

Regina and Emma wrote their numbers down on a piece of paper and exchanged them. Emma climbed back into the ambulance and Regina made her way back to the crime scene. Regina didn't know why but she couldn't wait to finish up so she could go to the hospital.

A/N Thought I would write a little key just in case some people didn't understand the technical words.

Nasal Aperture: A heart- or pear-shaped opening in the human skull this is the gap that's up the nostrils.

Perimortem Fractures: The fracture was received at or near the time of death.

Lateral incisors: A pair of upper teeth.

Radial, Scaphoid and Trapezium. Radial bone is a bone in the arm it's found between the elbow and the wrist. Scaphoid bone is a bone that between the hand and forearm on the side of the wrist the thumb is is a bone found below the base of the thumb.


	4. Chapter 4

Driving back to the hospital Emma's mind kept drifting to Regina, she hadn't known this woman for long but she was consuming her every thought, she had never met a woman so complicated. Emma was pretty certain that Regina was 100% straight and one rule Emma lived by was never fall for a straight girl but when it came to Regina she imagined it would be fairly easy to fall for her. Emma had completely zoned out and hadn't realised that Ruby had been trying to get her attention, "God damn it Em stop mooning over the ice queen and listen to me will you."

"Sorry, go on you have my full attention."

Ruby leaned over to the stretcher and checked the girl's vitals, everything was perfectly normal all things considered and the girl had even managed to fall asleep. "I was just saying that I hope they find the bastard responsible for killing those people, dealing with that day in and day out it's no wonder Regina is so cold hearted."

"Don't call her cold hearted Ruby, you don't even know her" Emma snapped.

"I hate to break it to you Em but neither do you, you've known her for about an hour and you're already trying to be her knight in shining armour."

Emma knew Ruby was right but she couldn't help but jump to the woman's defense even though she was pretty sure Regina could defend herself. Emma hated to admit it but she was sort of glad that she had been called to the crime scene because if she hadn't she wouldn't of met Regina. "I'm not trying to be Regina's anything Ruby, you of all people should know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, anyway how's she doing back there?."

Emma stopped at a set of traffic lights, pulled up the hand break and leaned back to check on the young girl. "Everything is fine back here Em, I just hope this girl can remember who she is, I can't imagine what she must have gone through but whatever it was it must have been brutal for her not to know her own name."

The lights turned green and Emma continued the journey back to the hospital when all of a sudden she heard a scream coming from the back of the ambulance. "Get off me, no I won't do it, please just let me go home, please let me go." Emma just assumed the girl was having a nightmare so she carried on driving and let Ruby calm her down. Ruby stood up and brushed her fingertips lightly over the girl's eyebrow, something she knew helped Emma calm down and she hoped it would help soothe the young girl and it did just that. After about ten minutes Emma arrived at the hospital, she pulled up in the ambulance bay and turned off the engine. They took the girl into A&E and explained the situation to the doctor, he sent the girl up to a ward and made sure she had a private room. Emma looked at the clock and she still had a few hours left of her shift but due to this girl being so fragile she knew her boss would let her get away with just staying in the hospital. Ruby walked into the room, chucked Emma a bottle of water and her phone "the boss said you can stay here for the remainder of your shift but I've got to go back out with Killian and Jeff" she huffed.

"Thanks Ruby, I really appreciate it, I will only stay until Regina turns up."

"No you won't Em, you wouldn't give up a chance to spend some time with a pretty lady, I think you should text her and let her know all is okay and what ward she's on."

Emma turned on her phone and opened up a new message. Emma wasn't sure if Regina even wanted her to message her but then why would Regina of wanted to exchange numbers because Emma was pretty sure she was a very powerful woman, she could just ring the hospital and find out any information she needed. Emma looked over at the young girl who had fallen back to sleep, she pulled the blanket over her and brushed her hair out of her face. Emma didn't have a clue what to say in the message to Regina but she decided to keep it casual.

Hello, Miss Mills. It's Emma Swan just letting you know we have arrived at the hospital and the girl is staying on ward D4East in room two. The doctor thought it would be best if she had her own room. Hope to see you later :)

Emma had no idea why she said "Hope to see you later" and she wished she hadn't but it was too late now because the message had been sent.

Regina arrive at her lab and for some reason, a reason she couldn't quite put her finger on she kept looking at her watch. She decided she would go over to the hospital about 2:30pm and as it was just after 12 she decided she should do some work. She walked over to her office and glanced at the Forensic platform to see her team already setting up. Regina sat down in her chair, pulled out her phone and noticed she had one new message. All of a sudden she started to feel very sick and her stomach was doing flips, she opened the new message and started to read it. As soon as she read Miss Mills she knew it was a message off Emma and a huge smile broke out on her face. Before she had a chance to reply to the message, the door to her office opened. "Haven't you heard of knocking." Regina looked up from her phone to see Katherine was stood in front of her desk. "Sorry, I didn't realise it was you."

Katherine smiled, letting Regina know it was okay. After being friends for about ten years and working with each other for six Katherine was used to Regina's outbursts. "So who got you smiling at your phone, anyone I know?" she questioned. Regina looked back down at her phone and shook her head. "It's only Zelena, she sent me a picture of a drawing Bailey had done for me" she replied.

Regina didn't quite know why she had lied, but if Katherine knew she was smiling at a text off woman, no matter how innocent the text was it would still open a whole can of worms and she just wasn't prepared for that. "Oh so you two are talking again, I can never keep up with your sisterly rows" she joked.

Regina placed her phone on the desk and huffed "I guess David called you then, Spare me the third degree., I heard what David and Zelena said and I think I'm going to lay off picking people up for a while and concentrate on work, it's about time I wrote another research paper."

Katherine sat down on the chair in front of Regina's huge desk and placed her hand over the top of Regina's. "I don't think they were telling you to be celibate Gina but maybe just reign it in, it's quality not quantity after all."

Regina knew they weren't telling her to be celibate but the sex with endless strangers did nothing for her and if anything it just made her feel worse. "Katherine I don't plan on staying celibate, sex is a healthy part of one's life. I just mean I'm going to concentrate on myself and maybe get to know someone before I jump into bed with them."

"I understand what you mean, well I just come to let you know that I'm going to

make my way to the hospital and see if Jane Doe can give me a description."

"No you go home, Jane Doe will need some time to recover and the Doctor's will probably want to check her over first."

Regina knew Katherine wouldn't argue with her, it's been a couple of weeks since Katherine has been able to have a day off and Regina knew she would jump at the chance. "You sure? I don't mind staying to catch up on some work if you need me too."

"No it's fine Katherine, I will see you tomorrow."

Katherine stood up, walked over to Regina and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Bye Gina, see you tomorrow."

Regina waited until Katherine left her office and closed the door before picking her phone back up again. She opened Emma's message again and couldn't help but smile when she read it again. Regina sat starting at the screen for about five minutes, what did Emma mean when she said hope to see you later. Regina didn't have a clue what to say back to this text. While she was trying to decide, her mind kept wandering to Emma. She had never met anyone with eyes that colour, they weren't the light green or hazel-green that people usually had. Emma's eyes were unique they were a deep green with golden flecks that danced around her irises. Emma is very beautiful and Regina decided she was merely admiring the younger woman. After thinking about the blonde for just over five minutes Regina decided she should text Emma back and let her know that she would be by shortly.

Hello Emma, you didn't need to call me Miss Mills as we are no longer at the crime scene and there is no need to be professional. I'm glad you made it to the hospital safe and that she has been given her own room. It shouldn't be too long and I will be able to get away and come and check on her. Thank you for texting me Emma it meant a lot :)

Regina was anxious to get to the hospital and it had her worried because she didn't know whether she was anxious to check on the young girl or whether she really just wanted to see the beautiful blonde. Regina decided she would take them both some lunch as she knew how disgusting hospital food was. All of a sudden it dawned on Regina she had no idea what Emma liked to eat. She knew she only had to send Emma a text to find out what food she would like for lunch but as Regina wanted it to be a surprise she chose to go about it in a different way. Regina picked up the phone on her desk, dialed one and waited for someone to answer. After a couple of minutes of endless ringing Regina hung up the phone.

"JENNIFER, MY OFFICE NOW!" She yelled.

A few minutes later a little red head came scuttling into the office. "Sorry Miss Mills, I was sorting out the last few cases we've had and putting the files away, what may I help you with?" She asked.

Regina handed her a pen and paper " I need you to go to the cafe down the road I think it's called The Hot Pot."

"OK that's not a problem, is there any reason you don't want your usual?" She questioned

Regina hated it when people asked her stupid questions. "If I wanted my usual don't you think I would have asked for it" she snapped.

"I'm sorry Miss Mills, what can I get you?"

Regina didn't really know what to get so she decided to get everything she could think of. " I want a chicken and mayo sandwich, a ham sandwich, a cheese sandwich and a tuna one. I also want a chicken salad without the onions, a cheese toasty and a ham and cheese toasty. A bottle of coke, sprite, Dr pepper. An orange and apple juice. Two bottles of water, a pack of ready salted, cheese and onion, salt and vinegar and prawn cocktail crisps. An assortment of cakes and some red apples and a banana." Regina's assistant was writing as fast as she could to get all this down and she had no idea why Regina wanted all of this but over the years she learnt not to ask questions. "Is that everything Miss Mills?"

Regina wasn't quite sure what was happening to her and were all this concern and maternal instinct was coming from but she felt the need to make sure the young girl had everything she would need whilst being in hospital. "Can you also go to the nearest supermarket and buy two pairs of woman's pyjamas size 8-10, a few pairs of underwear in the same size not anything fancy, a toothbrush and toothpaste. Then just grab the essential toiletries a woman would need whilst being in hospital and that will be it. Can you also send Sydney in please?"

The red head cheeked her list and was very confused as to the things she was asked to get but she decided to just get on with it, she walked out the door and gently closed it. Regina sat down and tried to think if she had thought of everything she would need to take to the hospital. She thought of something she could add just as she was about to shout for Jennifer, Sydney knocked on the office door. "Come in Sydney."

Sydney walked through the door and was just about to sit down "don't sit, run and tell Jennifer to buy a cuddly teddy as well nothing too big just something that would cheer someone up." Sydney stood up and ran out of the office, a couple of minutes later he returned. "May I ask what that was about?"

Regina raised her left eyebrow " you may ask Sydney but that does not mean I will answer" she stated. Sydney knew it's better not to ask and just wait till Regina was ready to talk. Sydney had been in love with Regina from day one and at the beginning Regina would use that to her advantage but it became rather boring after a while so she did what any decent person should and told him as nice as possible he had no chance with her. So Sydney decided he would settle for work colleagues and friends instead. "How's it coming, have the bodies arrived yet?" She questioned.

"Yes both bodies have arrived, the girl's body had been x-rayed and we can see that she has Multiple fractures to her distal and medial hand phalanges and her metatarsals that suggest she put up a fight" he explained. Regina shook her head and sighed "anything else?"

Regina hated cases like this, she dealt with murder and dead bodies on a daily basis but they were normally straight forward but when they get kidnapped and tortured she just didn't understand how anyone could do that. "Yes the police did a missing persons search and found that a Mike and Kelly Price have been missing for over two months, dental records tell us that the man on our table is in fact Mike price."

Regina was relieved that the bodies now have names and can be laid to rest when all the evidence is taken from them. "What about the Scrapings I took from under Jane Doe's fingernails?"

"We got the results back and they are Epithelial cells and when compared to the DNA swabbed, they are her own."

"Did her DNA turn up on any Database?"

"No boss, but I'm waiting to hear back from Detective Cassidy. Hopefully there was a missing person's report filled, as soon as we know you will be the first person to know." Regina liked the fact that Sydney could reassure it really helped on tough cases. "Thanks Sydney, when Jennifer gets back I will be making my way to the hospital, I will have my phone on me so any developments let me know ASAP."

Sydney nodded his head and walked out of her office. Regina hated the fact they had a serial killer on their hands and it always felt like he/she was one step ahead. There had been 3 similar murders to this one so while she was waiting for Jennifer she decided she would go over the other case files. She walked to her filling cabinet, pulled them out and scattered them across the floor. She walked back to her desk and grabbed her notepad and a pen. She opened the first case file, the first murder happened in 2013, the victims were a mother and son, they had been missing for two months and were dumped in an alley by Waterloo Station, the second were a father and son who had been missing for two months and their bodies were found in 2014 in a disabled toilet in Euston Station. The third murders were a mother and her daughter their bodies were found in Liverpool Station in 2015. The serial killer clearly had some connection to the Train stations in London. Regina could also see there was a pattern with the victims as well just as Regina finished making notes, Jennifer opened the door to the office she had three big bags and Regina stood up to help her. "Thank you Jen, I really appreciate it. Would you help me take the bags to my car?" she asked. Jennifer nodded her head and carried two bags whilst Regina carried one. They placed the bags in the boot "Jennifer if I'm needed can you make sure it's important before you tell anyone to ring me on my mobile, I'm not sure how good the signal will be in the hospital."

"Of course Miss Mills, are you planning on coming back to the lab later or are you out for the day?"

"No I can't see myself coming back today let everyone know that Sydney is in charge whilst I'm gone."

Jennifer walked off and Regina climbed into her car. Regina started to feel very nervous and even sort of sick but she had no idea why. The drive to the hospital seemed to take forever, when Regina finally pulled up outside the hospital, she parked her car and just sat there. For some reason she couldn't bring herself to go inside.


	5. Chapter 5

Emma sat on the end of the girl's bed and was telling her all about her life in foster care. "There was this one family, they were also fostering 5 other kids and they only ever made 3 meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner so 6 of us had to share three meals."

"That must have been horrible, did you ever have any nice families?"

Emma took a sip of her water "A few families were nice. I had one very nice family and they were the last family I ever had. They were called the Swans, I was ten when they started to foster me and they couldn't have kids. Even though their house was small they had a big garden, for my birthday they bought me a trampoline and I would spend most of my summers out there with Ruby. I never had hand me downs they bought me everything new. After 6 years they finally decided to adopt me but on the day they were going to file for it they found out they were having a baby and like any foster kid I expected to be kicked to the curb" Emma explained.

"Did they kick you out so they could make way for their new baby?"

"No it was actually the opposite. They told me I was going to be a big sister and we would be moving to a bigger house. They let me skip school on the day of the scan and after it they even asked the nurse if I could have a copy of the scan. On the way home we decided to have McDonald's for lunch. When we left McDonald's a car smashed into us head on. I was a bit banged up but they didn't make it. I watched the paramedics do everything they could but it was just no good. That was the day I decided to become a paramedic."

Emma thought back to how she had to plan the funeral on her own well with the help of Ruby and Granny. The day after she was called to visit their solicitor who informed her they left her everything in their will. That was the day Emma decided to change her last name to Swan because even though they were dead she wanted something to remember them by after all they were her parents.

Regina stood outside the door listening to Emma telling the girl about her past. It had taken Regina ten minutes to work up the courage to make her way into the hospital and now she needed to find the courage to go into the room. She took one deep breath and knocked the door.

"Come in" the girl yelled.

Regina pushed the door open, struggled with the bags and dropped one on the floor, luckily it was only the bag containing clothes. Regina kneeled down to pick up the bag and Emma jumped off the bed to help her. Emma placed her hand on the bag the same time as Regina. They looked up at one another and Emma went red, their hands stayed touching for what felt like an entirety well at least for Emma but she was pretty sure it was less than a second. Regina cleared her throat and Emma pulled her hand away. They both stood up and Emma climbed back on the bed. "I've brought you both some food, I wasn't sure what you liked so I got a variety."

Regina handed the bags to Emma, Emma placed her hand on the chicken salad and before Regina could say anything Emma handed it to her "I guess this is yours, I pictured you as a sort of health nut" she joked.

Regina smiled and grabbed the salad. "Cheese toasty my favourite and a bottle of DR pepper. It's like you know me so well Miss Mills" Emma husked. It was Regina's turn to go red. "Emma you can call me Regina, there is no need to professional."

Emma nodded her head and took a bite of her toasty. The young girl chose the ham and cheese toasty, tuna sandwich, two donuts and a bottle of Fanta. "Whatever you don't eat you can give to Ruby and your colleagues if you would like Emma, but I would like you both to eat a piece of fruit."

Both girls looked at Regina and huffed it was like they were being told off. "What's in the other bag?" the girl asked.

"Oh yes that, I almost forgot. Well I wasn't too sure how long you would be in here so I bought you some essentials. There's two pairs of Pyjamas, underwear, toiletries and a little stuffed animal to keep you company."

Emma looked over to Regina and couldn't help but smile, the woman she met at the crime scene earlier today did not resemble the woman stood in front of her. "Thank you Regina."

"It's not a problem dear, are you any closer to remembering anything?" Regina questioned. She didn't want to push her but anything she could remember would help. The young girl took a huge bit of her sandwich and shook her head. "I can remember little things but nothing that would help I don't think" she sighed.

Regina knew that any bit of information no matter how small could help. "Emma dear, could you go and find me a pad of paper and a pen please?"

Emma's whole body shivered, she jumped off the bed and made her way to the nurse's station. "Do you mind if I sit on the end of the bed?"

The girl nodded her head and Regina climbed up to sit on the bed. Emma walked through the door "oh I see how it is, send me to get you things and rob my seat."

"Well Miss Swan you snooze you lose" Regina joked. Regina didn't know what was happening to her, she never made jokes.

"Touché Miss Mills, move over I'm sure there's room for a little one." Regina scooted over and Emma climbed onto the bed and sat next to her. Their shoulders gently touched and neither wanted to move away from the contact no matter how little. Emma leaned over so she could grab Regina's salad when she moved back she didn't realise how close Regina was to her and their noses bumped. Regina placed her hand on the side of Emma's face "I'm so sorry Emma, are you okay?"

Emma placed her hand on top of Regina's, as soon as her hand touched Regina pulled her hand away. "You have nothing to apologise for, it was a total accident. Now here eat this then you can write down everything she can remember. Lunch is the most important meal of the day."

The young girl looked at Emma and shook her head "Emma I think you mean that breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"Yes Emma she's right, you're slightly confused about the actual saying."

Emma took a forkful of Regina's chicken and rammed it into Regina's mouth. "I hate to break it to you but as I'm normally on the night shift I don't get breakfast so lunch is the first meal I eat" she laughed.

Regina swallowed the mouthful of food that was forced on her and slapped Emma's arm "I'm pretty capable of feeding myself but thanks for the help."

Regina didn't know what it was but Emma made her feel like she could be herself around her. Regina didn't open up too many people she knew keeping her walls up made sure she couldn't get hurt again. "You are very much welcome Miss Mills."

Regina smirked at her and carried on eating her salad. "So sweetie do you remember anything more about who you are?"

"I think I'm starting to. I just don't understand how I could have forgotten so much" she sobbed. Regina leaned forward and pulled the girl into her. The girl cried into Regina's chest, Emma stood up, sat next to the girl and rubbed her back. The girl stopped crying and climbed off the bed. "Is it okay if I go to the toilet and maybe have a shower?" she asked. Regina smiled and handed her the bag of toiletries and fresh pyjamas. "Take your time, we will be here if you need us." She walked into the toilet, closed the door leaving Regina and Emma alone. "Emma I would like to thank you for waiting with her, I hope it cause any problems with your work because that's the last thing I would want."

Emma placed her hand on Regina's, this time neither pulled away. "It's fine I didn't mind, she's a great girl and I didn't want to leave her alone. It didn't cause any problems, my boss is pretty laid back and as I'm still in the building I can still get paid."

"That's good to know. So what's it like being a paramedic, do you enjoy it?" Regina asked. Regina wasn't sure what was going on but she really wanted to get to know Emma.

"Are you genuinely interested or just hate silence?"

Regina moved her hand away and Emma missed the contact. "Emma I rarely ask a question if I don't intend to find out the answer. If I'm honest I would like to get to know you."

Emma was confused, nobody had ever wanted to get to know her. She was always labelled the foster kid and that said all people needed to know. Emma started to tear up and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop the tears from falling. Regina moved up the bed, placed her hand on Emma's face and wiped away every tear that fell. "I didn't mean to upset you, if you're not comfortable in discussing it then you don't have to. But you do need to stop crying because my perfectly manicured hands will start to go wrinkly and nobody wants to see that."

Emma took Regina's hand in hers and looked at her nails. She stopped crying and ran her fingers over Regina's nails. "That is a very nice manicure, don't get me wrong I do want to talk about it, it's just nobody has been interested in getting to know me. Sorry for my emotional outburst." Regina let Emma run her fingers over her nails until she was ready to stop. "You don't have to apologise for having emotions and certainly not to me. You seem like a very interesting person so I can't see why people wouldn't want to get to know you."

Regina didn't know where all this compassion was coming from, maybe she was actually a nice person she just needed the right person to show her it was okay to let her guard down once in a while. "Stop it you will make me blush."

"Well I'm sure you would still look cute with a bright red face."

Regina couldn't believe she had just said that and neither could Emma. Before Emma could say anything Regina stood up and made her way out of the hospital room.

Emma wanted to chase after but thought it was best to give her some space. Emma sat staring out the window when she heard the door go, she whipped her head round to notice it was the young girl. "Emma."

Emma stood up and walked to the girl. "What's up sweetie?"

The girl pulled her pyjama bottoms down and slide the waistband of her new knickers to the side. The girl had the tattoo of a lily surrounded by numbers that looked like a date of birth just under her waistband. "Emma do you think maybe my names Lily and the numbers are my birthday?" She questioned.

The girl pulled up her bottoms, walked over to the bed and sat down. "Well that might be the case. And if that is your name and date of birth we should be able to track down your grandparents. Let's wait for Regina and see what she makes of it." The girl grabbed the unopened bottle of water and drank it. "Where is Regina?" She asked.

Regina stood in front of the toilet mirror and just didn't know what to do. She had just called Emma cute. She pulled out her phone and decided to send David a text.

David I need your help. I just called a paramedic cute. Xx

Regina washed her hands, splashed water on her face and started to pace up and down the toilets. After a couple of minutes of pacing her phone vibrated.

Regina what's the big deal? Sometimes you can go slightly over the top and can be rather dramatic xx

Regina couldn't believe he of all people called her dramatic.

The big deal is that the paramedic is a WOMAN. I met her at the crime scene and she's been on my mind all day. What the hell do I do? xx

Regina placed her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and made her way back to the girl's room. She was just about to place her hand on the handle when her phone vibrated.

I don't understand why it matters that she's a woman. If you like her Gina, then don't overthink it. Just go with the flow it's about time you embraced your inner lesbian. xx

Regina placed the phone back in her pocket and heard Emma mention her name. She decided to stand outside the room and listen to what was being said.

"I'm not too sure where Regina has gone sweetie but I'm sure she won't be long."

"Is Regina your girlfriend?"

Emma went bright red and turned away to look out the window. "No she isn't my girlfriend, what made you asked?"

"It's just the way you act around each other it's the same way my grandparents act. So I just assumed you were, I'm sorry for implying you were gay."

"You don't need to apologise for implying that I'm gay sweetie because I am very much gay but I'm rather sure that Regina isn't and even if she was she's out of my league."

"Well I don't think that. Nobody is ever out of anyone's league you've just got to believe that you are worthy enough to be loved. I've seen the way Regina's looks at you I'm pretty sure she's not fully straight and what makes you think she's out of your league."

"Have you seen her? She's beautiful, extremely smart, interesting, slightly funny and even a bit complicated everything I could want in a woman and more."

"There you go then, what's stopping you from asking her on a date."

Before Emma could answer Regina opened the door and walked into the hospital room. "We will finish this later" the girl whispered.

"How are you feeling dear? Did that shower make you feel any better?" Regina asked.

The girl stood up, dropped her bottoms and showed Regina the tattoo she had. "I feel a bit better thank you for everything and these pyjamas are so cute. I think this tattoo might be my name and date of birth."

Regina looked at the tattoo and she was pretty sure the girls name was lily. "Emma, could you pop to the nurses' station give them the name lily and the date of birth and see if there are any files."

Emma walked out of the door and to the nurses' station.

"Regina are you a lesbian?" The girl blurted.

Regina went bright red. "That's a very personal thing to ask. But no I am not a lesbian."

Regina could see the look of disappointment on the girls face. "Oh right" she sighed. Regina knew that as soon as she left them alone she would tell Emma that she's not a lesbian and Emma would likely give up on her and that is something Regina didn't want. "Honestly I think nobody is completely straight, I believe that you shouldn't love someone because of their gender you should love them for the person they are. So I've never met a woman I could imagine dating but if I did I wouldn't rule it out" she explained.

The girl smiled at Regina. "Do you think Emma will come back with some good news?"

A few seconds later Emma came walking through the door with a pretty big smile on her face. Emma was carrying a file in her hand, she sat down on the bed and opened the file. "I don't want you to get your hopes but in my hand I have the file of a girl with the name Lily Foster and the Date of birth that matches your tattoo. The nurse is going to come in and take you for an X-ray in about five minutes."

"I don't have any broken bones though" the girl stated.

"Really Emma is this necessary right now?"

Emma slammed the file close. "If you impatient pair gave me a chance to explain then maybe things might seem a bit clearer. And as you're an anthropologist Regina you should know why this X-ray is important and the sooner we get this done the sooner we find out who she is."

"Miss Swan the floor is all yours take it away."

"Miss Mills I'm sorry to disappoint you but sarcasm doesn't look good on you leave that to me" Emma joked.

Both Regina and the young girl swatted Emma on the back of the head. "Emma can you just get on with it please."

Emma opened the file again and pulled out a copy of an X-ray. "The Lily Foster whose file this is broke their arm when they were 14, so if you have healed fractures in the same place then we can assume this is you and we will also check your dental records because this Lily Foster had braces and if everything points to you then we will call your grandparents."

The girl couldn't stop smiling and Emma really wanted to tell her to not get her hopes up but Emma had a very big feeling that she was Lily Foster.

"What we waiting for let's get this X-ray done then."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Emma asked.

She looked between Regina and Emma and smirked. "No I'm a big girl I will be fine with the nurse."

Moments later the nurse came in to take her to X-ray. "If you need us don't hesitate to ask."

The girl just smiled and walked out of the room leaving Emma and Regina alone again.


	6. Chapter 6

Regina stood there feeling rather awkward, she had no idea what possessed her to call Emma cute and she sort of wished she hadn't. "I really hope that she is Lily Foster and that she starts to get her memory back."

"Me too. Emma I feel that I should apologise for calling you cute, you see I didn't really mean it" Regina explained.

"Oh so now you're saying I'm not cute, well that's a kick in the teeth. I started to have a big head."

Emma was trying her best to make Regina feel more comfortable, she didn't want to risk Regina bolting again. She had a feeling Regina was the type of person to overthink every little thing and as she ran away straight after calling her cute she assumed Regina was not used to finding women attractive.

"Emma that's not what I'm saying, it's just, well, oh this is all very complicated" Regina sighed.

"I'm pretty sure it's not, you either think I'm cute or you don't. I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the box but I can't really see what's so complicated about it. It's not like you're asking for my hand in marriage or for me to bury a body for you. Even though I wouldn't object to the latter"

Regina walked to the window, pressed her head against the cold glass and huffed "do you really need to make a joke out of everything."

Emma stood up, walked over to Regina and placed her hand on Regina's shoulder. "I'm sorry I don't mean to, when I feel uncomfortable the only thing I know how to do is make jokes."

"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable Emma."

Regina turned around and Emma smiled. "You didn't make me feel uncomfortable you goof. I just meant you said it was complicated and I weren't exactly sure what you meant by that."

"Well just let me clarify then, you are cute when you blush as well as being beautiful in general. It's just I'm a very damaged woman Emma with a very troubled past that's what I meant when I said things are complicated."

Emma blushed again and Regina placed her hand on Emma's cheek. "See you're cute when you blush."

"It's been a very long time since I've had a reason to blush. Regina you are only human. You might be damaged but so am I and as for the troubled past I was a foster kid trouble was my middle name."

Emma pulled Regina's hand and noticed scars on her wrist. Regina went to pull her hand away when Emma stopped her and even though Emma had no idea why she did it she kissed the scars. "You should never be ashamed Regina; these are your battle scars. At the time you were down but you picked yourself up and I'm sure you are stronger because of it. The past can hurt. But from the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it."

"Miss Swan did you just quote Rafiki from The Lion King?" Regina asked.

"Miss Mills you know your Disney films that's rather surprising."

"I'm full of surprises." Emma pulled up the sleeve of her uniform and showed Regina that she has similar scars however hers were much more faded than Regina's and that gave Emma the idea that something bad had happened to Regina recently. Emma really wanted to find out what but she didn't want Regina to think she was prying. Regina took Emma's arm and ran her fingers over the scars. Emma's whole body shivered and Regina had no idea what she was doing and for once in her life she didn't care, she was going to take David's advice and go with the flow.

"I see you more as an open book."

"Well there you are very wrong; I always keep my cards close to my chest."

"That is a very nice chest to keep them close to" Emma blurted.

"Emma!"

"I would say I'm sorry and I didn't mean to be so crude. I may be a woman but I have the mind of a teenage boy" she joked.

Regina didn't know what to say so she just rolled her eyes. She knew Emma Swan was a handful from their meeting earlier in the day but she didn't realise how much of a handful she actually was. "It's fine Emma, they say life is full of beauty and you should notice it."

"So Miss Mills is this you telling me that you consider your chest a thing of beauty?"

"Now that would be telling wouldn't it Miss Swan."

Regina really hadn't a clue what was going on with her but since meeting Emma this morning everything Regina would normally do in any situation had completely gone out the window. Even though Regina had never been in this situation before she knew that if it was any other woman there would be no chance of her flirting with them but something about Emma was so different.

"How about we play a game of cards to get to know each other a bit better?" Emma asked.

"Why can't we get to know each other the old fashion way by having a conversation?"

"Well where's the fun in that?"

"You're going to be quite a handful aren't you so where do you suppose we get a pack of cards Miss Swan?"

"There not that big but anything more than a handful is a waste and all that" Emma joked.

Regina slapped Emma's arm "Less of the crude Miss Swan and more of the finding a pack of cards" Regina ordered.

"Fine I'm going, I'm going." Emma walked out of the room and went to the nurse's station and came back a few seconds later with a deck of cards. She sat at the head of the bed and Regina sat on the other end. "So what card game we going to play?" Regina questioned.

Emma pulled the cards out of the packet, shuffled them and placed the cards faced down on the middle of the bed. "Highest card, each of us pick a card then the one with the highest card gets to ask the other a question" Emma explained.

"Sounds like a good game, is there any questions you would like to keep out of the game?"

"Well now you mention it would you stay clear from anything to do with foster care? How about you, anything you would like me to stay away from?"

"Nothing I can think of, maybe just past relationships."

"OK so no foster care for me and no relationships for you. You pick the first card."

Regina picked up the top card and looked at it, the card was a 2 and then Emma picked up the next card and hers was an ace. "Two is higher than an ace so I go first" Regina stated.

"When was the last time you played cards because I'm pretty sure Ace has always been higher than two."

Regina pulled out her phone, opened google and typed in is Ace higher than two as soon as she seen the first response she threw her phone on the bed and huffed "Fine you go first."

"I guess somebody doesn't like being wrong."

"You would guess right, now ask your question."

"Do you have any siblings?" Emma asked.

"Yes I have an older brother and sister and a younger brother."

"Are you close with them?"

"Wouldn't that count as another question?"

"So you hate being wrong, you hate to lose, you like to follow the rules and you have an 3 siblings, see I'm finding out a lot about you and I've only asked one question."

Emma pulled the next card and it was a 5, Regina smiled and pulled her next card and it was a ten. "Your turn, you better make it a good question."

"How old are you?"

"Really that was your question, I told you to make it a good question and you asked for my age."

"I don't like doing what I'm told" Regina replied.

"I will know a lot about you before the game is over. And I'm 23 nearly 24."

"Really I didn't expect you to be that young, you have a pretty old head on your shoulders."

"Being in care you have to grow up quickly but that's all I'm going to say about that." Emma picked the next card and it was a 3 and Regina's was a queen. "My go again. Are you currently in a relationship?"

Emma started laughing and nearly chocked. Regina handed her a bottle of water and Emma drank it and tried her hardest to stop laughing. "Are you going to tell me what's so funny and then answer my question?"

"Sorry it's just the question was funny, well not the question so much the answer is funny. In my whole life I've had one serious relationship and that one scared me gay then I had one that lasted about 4 months but other than that I don't really do relationships I'm more of a three date cut and run girl."

After hearing those last 6 words Regina started to panic she didn't want to just be a conquest for anyone and certainly not Emma. Emma studied Regina's face, her expression was one of hurt and confusion. Emma knew what she had said came out wrong and she didn't know how to reassure Regina that she didn't mean it the way it came across but every time she tried to make eye contact with her, Regina looked away. Emma knew she needed to do damage control and she needed to do it quick. "That came out wrong, what I meant to say was I work so much I don't really get chance to meet anyone so my dating pool is rather slim. If I'm honest the women, I do meet don't offer anything intellectually so I tend not to stick around. If I met someone I really hit off with then of course I would put in time and effort to hope something good came out of it" Emma explained. She really hoped Regina understood where she was coming from and didn't think she was some sort of slag. Regina looked at Emma and smiled, she honestly hoped that Emma wasn't the three date cut and run girl anymore. "I think you should ask a question Emma and then we have asked two each because I'm sure the x-ray will be over soon."

"I think that is very fair, what made you want to become a forensic anthropologist?" Emma asked.

"That's a very simple question" Regina replied.

"It might be a very simple question but it is a question that I'm really interested in knowing the answer."

"Why would you be really interested in the answer?"

"The same reason you asked me why I became a paramedic. I'm going to say that your job is a very important part of your life and I want to know every aspect of your life well the parts you will let me know."

"Well Emma the more you get to know me the more you might not like and I'm not sure if I want to scare you away when we've only just met" Regina sighed.

Emma grabbed Regina's hand and squeezed it "Regina I don't scare easily and there is no rush to open up to me, Rome wasn't built in a day. So let's start with the easy things shall we and we can go from there."

"The easy things I can do. Well my dad was anthropologist and I've always loved science. When I was ten my dad bought me my own life sized skeleton and by the time I was 11 I had memorised every bone in the body, all 206 of them. My dad told me he didn't know anyone who was interested in bones as much as he was and it became our special thing. When I was 17 he died and I didn't have anyone to talk about it with so I decided I would follow in his footsteps. He left us a lot of money in his will but my mother made sure we couldn't touch it until we were 21. So I went to University and studied Forensic Science and then completed my masters in Forensic Anthropology. I used the money my father left me to open the Henry Mills Institute that specialises in all things forensic" Regina explained.

Emma watched Regina's eyes light up as she talking about her father and she really felt like she was really getting to know Regina.

"Wow so you couldn't just work for someone you actually had to open your own Institute."

"Being your own boss is much better than having to answer to someone and like you've learnt I don't like being told what to do."

"I'm glad I used my last question to ask you that."

Emma and Regina sat in silence for about 15 minutes, Regina checked some work emails and Emma played Candy Crush.

"Emma can I ask you a question?"

"You used all your questions up during cards but ask away, unless you want a kidney" Emma joked.

Regina glared at Emma and Emma ducked her head "sorry."

Regina placed her hand under Emma's chin and brought her head up. "Don't apologise, old habits die hard."

"Yes they do but I will try harder not to make jokes. So what was it you wanted to ask me?"

"Don't stop all together you've got a pretty good sense of humour just maybe leave it for the right time and place."

Regina didn't get the chance to ask Emma anything because there was a knock at the door. One of Emma's friends who was the nurse that accompanied the girl to X-ray walked through the door. The nurse could tell that both women were wondering why she had come back alone. "Don't worry a few of the nurses have stolen her away and taken her to the canteen for ice cream. She's a really sweet girl and we thought it would do her some good to socialise with a few people. Her dental records will be with us in an hour or so it shouldn't be long until we know if she's Lily Foster or not."

"Thank you for keeping us informed Erica."

"Not a problem Em. I will leave you two to it."

Erica walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. "That's good she's socialising and I really do hope she's Lily Foster. So Miss Mills what exactly did you want to ask me?" Emma questioned.

Regina was trying her hardest to build up the courage and just when she had her phone started to ring. She answered the phone and huffed "Sydney what is it?"

"Well boss you said ring if we found anything important and well we've found something. The girl's head was found less than a mile from the crime scene and she had something rather interesting in her mouth and we're pretty sure it could belong to the killer and if it does then maybe his DNA is in one of our systems."

"I will make my way back now I want to be there when we get the results."

Region hung up the phone and placed it in her back pocket. "I guess you've got to go" Emma sighed.

"Yes I do, we could be close to finding out who did this. Do you mind staying here and waiting until we find out if she is Lily Foster. I will be back as soon as I can and then we will finish our conversation."

"So I've got to wait until you get back to find out what you wanted to ask me."

"Yes Miss Swan you do but the idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting."

"Regina did you just quote Andy Warhol and before you say it yes I'm also full of surprises." Emma joked.

Regina grabbed her stuff and she wasn't really sure how she was supposed to say goodbye it was like one of them awkward situations when you bump into a friend shopping and you're not sure how long you should stand and talk. "Go on the sooner you go then the sooner you can come back. Go and kick some arse and find out who did this. I will tell her you will be back as soon as you can."

Emma really didn't want Regina to leave but she knew she had too. Regina stood at the door and opened it. She decided to bite the bullet and not wait. She just couldn't stop herself "Emma would you like to go on a date with me."  
Regina didn't give her chance to answer, before Emma even had chance to process the question Regina had left the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Emma stood staring at the door for just less than five minutes, she was in complete shock. Regina Mills a woman she had known less than a day, a woman who she thought was as straight as an arrow had just asked her out on a date. Emma needed time to process this, Ruby was working so she decided to go to the canteen. Just as Emma opened the door she was bulldozed to the floor by a very excited girl. "She's me Emma, it's true, I'm her."

Emma stood up, brushed herself off and just stared right through her. "Emma are you listening to me. I'm LILY FOSTER" she shouted.

"That's amazing news. We should call your grandparents and let them know your safe and I will text Regina and let her know."

Lily looked around the room and was pretty confused why Regina wasn't there waiting for her. "Where is Regina?" She questioned

"Well something happened and Regina needed to go back to work."

"Emma what did you do?"

"Why are you assuming I did something?"

"Just a hunch."

"Emma can I have your phone so I can text Regina myself."

Emma leaned over, grabbed her phone and handed it to Lily. "Regina will be busy so don't be surprised if she doesn't reply right away."

Emma: Knock Knock?

Regina: Emma I'm working I don't have time for knock knock jokes

Lily placed the phone on the bed and huffed. "What's up?" Emma asked.

"Regina thinks it's you and won't answer my text properly."

Emma grabbed the phone and started to laugh. "That's a good one. Did you think of that while you were down in the canteen? Just ask Regina to answer it and I'm sure she will."

"Yeah the nurses helped me think of it."

Emma: Regina can you please just answer it

Regina: Fine. Who's there?

Emma: Lily

Regina: Lily who

Emma: Lily foster. It's me Regina, Emma let me use her phone so I could text you to let you know that the dental records confirmed that I'm lily foster.

That's wonderful. I'm going to be here for a little while then I will come back over. Hopefully your grandparents will be there soon.

Lily handed Emma's phone back to her. "What did Regina say?" Emma asked

Lily just shook her head and took a sip of her drink "that she was going to be working for a while but will come back later, she didn't seem very bothered though" she sighed.

Emma walked over to Lily and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "I'm sure she is bothered sweetie but I think what's going on at her work is very important and it will help find who kidnapped you and killed all those people."

"I guess so."

Emma pulled Lily into a hug "hey don't worry about it. We know who you are now so let's look into calling your grandparents shall we."

"That sounds like a plan. Do you think Regina will be by to see me later?"

"I'm sure she will.

Lily climbed onto the bed and Emma could tell she was tired. "You get some sleep and I will get the nurse to ring your grandparents." Emma left lily and walked to the nurses' station to find a note left on the desk for her.

Grandparents have been notified and will be here about 8pm.

Emma grabbed the note and felt a wave of sadness wash over her she didn't expect Lily's grandparents to get here so soon. Emma walked back in the room, grabbed her phone and decided to text Regina letting her know she should try get to the hospital soon to say goodbye to Lily just in case she can be discharged tonight.

Hey. Just letting you know Lily's grandparents have been notified and they will be here about 8pm so if you want to say goodbye try and be here before then.

Emma sat patiently staring at her phone. Nearly an hour went by and Regina still hadn't replied. Emma decided she would try and have a quick nap. Just as she started to close her eyes her phone vibrated against her leg.

"Thanks for letting me know. I'm pretty busy here but I will try my best to be there about 7:30ish."

Emma was a bit annoyed that Regina wasn't going to make more of an effort to come and see Lily, Emma understood that Regina was likely very busy but she was sure she could spare an hour to see Lily. Emma walked to the window and just looked out at the view. She wondered if when building the hospital, they took into consideration the view because she was sure she read an article somewhere about how a calming view could help patients recover more quickly and what was more calming than the view of the Thames. Emma got lost in her thoughts and didn't realise that Ruby was stood behind her until Ruby tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Em how's everything been up here?"

"Well we now know she's Lily Foster and Regina asked me on a date."

"That's great Em. But don't you think that's a bad idea, if you dance with the devil you will get your fingers burnt."

Emma really hated that Ruby was judging Regina on what she heard about her. "Ruby I've spent nearly all afternoon with her and really got to know her, she's not as bad as people make out. I will be careful I promise and to be honest your dating my ex, he's not squeaky clean so you've got no right to tell me not to do this" Emma stated.

"I thought you were okay with me and Neal. I would rather you tell me you're not fine with it than you pretend you are and make snide comments all the time. I suppose you're a good judge of character and if you say Regina isn't as bad as people say then I believe you. Just please be careful I don't want you to get hurt because it's getting harder and harder to pull you out of the rabbit hole" Ruby sighed.

Emma honestly thought she was okay with it but it looks like she still needed time to get her head around it.

"Sorry Rub I'm not being fair about you and Neal I just need some time to get used to it that's all."

Ruby walked over to Emma, wrapped her arms around her waist and rested her head on Emma's neck just as Lily woke up and seconds later Regina walked through the door. Regina cleared her throat "I can come back if I'm interrupting something, but it's rather inappropriate to be doing that in front of Lily don't you think."

Emma and Ruby jumped apart even though they weren't doing anything they still felt guilty. Emma turned around and studied Regina's face, she may have got to know the woman in front of her a bit better today but not enough to know if she was being serious or not.

"I thought you was busy and couldn't get away" Lily snapped. Both Emma and Ruby were thankful for the break in silence but by the look on Regina's face she was not. "That's a very inappropriate tone to have with an adult dear. I'm waiting for some DNA results so thought it would be a perfect time to come and spend some time with you before you leave. But if that's the way you are going to speak to me then I'm sure I can leave."

Regina noticed Emma had started to look flush and was worried she may be coming down with something after all hospitals were full of 100s of germs. Regina walked forward and placed her hand on Emma's forehead. "Emma dear, you have a temperature are you feeling okay?"

Ruby stood there staring at the interaction between the two women and thought maybe Emma was right.

Emma placed her hand over Regina's, she expected Regina to pull it away as the room wasn't exactly empty and Emma had a feeling Regina was the type who hated PDA but instead Regina placed her other hand on the back of Emma's neck. Emma knew it was only to double check her temp. "I'm fine Regina, just had a hot flush that's all."

"Bloody hell Em you're a bit young to be going through the menopause you got plenty more years of visits from aunt flow" Ruby joked.

Regina slowly removed her hands from Emma's head and neck, Emma was sure she did it on purpose to see the reaction it would get from her. "Ruby, there is some food in that bag if you would like some, well that is if these greedy pair hasn't eaten it all."

Emma and Lily both looked at Regina and yelled "hey."

Regina looked at the pair and couldn't help but smile, the pair had matching annoyed looks plastered over their faces. "I'm sorry dears but it's true."

Ruby walked over to the bag of food left, grabbed it and walked back over to Emma. She leaned in, kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear "maybe you're right."

Regina watched this exchange and started to feel rather jealous, was Emma and Ruby sleeping together. "I won't be home tonight Ems I'm staying over Neal's."

Emma smiled at her best friend, took a deep breath and said something she didn't think would ever leave her lips "now I know, Neal can stay over at ours if you like."

"I didn't want you to think I was being insensitive."

Emma hugged her best friend tightly and without needing to use words Ruby knew that Emma had officially given her blessing. Regina felt rather relived it was clear that Ruby wasn't her girlfriend and that she had a boyfriend, one that Emma didn't approve of it seemed. "Thank you for the food Regina, it was really kind of you."

"Seems I'm not the ice queen everybody thinks I am."

Ruby went bright red and sloped out of the room without saying a word. Emma was glad that Ruby got to see that Regina wasn't the scary woman that everyone hated. "Did everything get sorted at the lab?" Emma asked.

Regina looked at Emma and then at Lily she decided not to share the details with Emma while Lily was in the room. "I've left it in Sydney's capable hands so I could come back and spend some time with Lily before her grandparents came."

"Well you should feel very honored Lil that Regina gave up work to spend time with you."

"If I'm honest I thought I would spend some time with the both of you."

"We feel very honored don't we Emma. Do you think I can be discharged tonight?" She questioned.

"How about I go and check with the doctor kid."

Emma walked out of the room to find Doctor Smith. Regina couldn't help but watch her leave and she could feel Lily's eyes burning into the side of her head. "You like her."

"Excuse me?"

"You like her; you think she's gorgeous... you want to hug her…you want to kiss her... her... you want to love her... "Lily sung.

"Lily that's very childish."

"Sorry but it's true, I've never been in a relationship or anything and only had the experiences of my grandparents but it's clear that you like each other."

"I will let you on in a little secret, before I left earlier I asked Emma out on a date."

Lily squealed "that's great Regina, what did Emma say?"

"I left the room before she could give me an answer."

"Regina you should have waited because I'm sure she would have said yes."

You're a right little match maker aren't you" Regina laughed.

Emma came into the room followed by an older couple. "Lily, look who I found in the corridor."

Lily's grandparents walked over to her, pulled her in to a hug and started crying. "We didn't think we would ever see you again, we never stopped looking for you."

"I missed you both so much and I'm sorry I didn't come home, if I had come straight home from the cinema none of this would have happened."

"Lily are you starting to remember things?" Emma asked.

"Not really, I just remember that I decided to meet a boy after the cinema and not go straight home."

"Don't worry about that darling, all that matters is that you're okay and we've found you."

"Lily you know the boy you had planned to meet did you know who he was?" Regina questioned.

"No I met him online, we had been talking for a couple of weeks and he asked me to meet him but when I did he never showed up and that's when I was taken."

Regina looked at Emma and Emma knew that the person who had taken Lily had groomed her and made out he was just a boy.

"Lily we told you not to speak to people that you didn't know" Mrs Foster sighed.

"I know but I wanted to make new friends and I knew a lot of kids did it on chat rooms. I'm sorry, if I had listened maybe it wouldn't have happened."

"Mrs Foster, do you still have Lily's laptop?" Regina asked.

"Everything is just how she left it. We knew one day she would be coming home so we didn't want to disturb her room."

"Would you mind if I send my forensic analyst to pick her laptop up tomorrow to see if we can get any information off it."

"That will be perfectly fine."

"Emma did you ask if I can be discharged?"

"The Doctor said as all your test results came back fine and your scans are clear so you are free to go home when you're ready. You can either stay here for the night or can go home now."

"I would like to go home tonight if that's okay?"

"Of course it's okay kid. You pack your stuff up while your grandparents go sign the discharge papers."

"We will be right outside if you need us Lil."

"I will be okay, I've got Emma and Regina."

"I'm so sorry Ladies we didn't introduce ourselves."

Emma walked over to the older man, held her hand out and the older man shook it. "Nice to meet you Mr Foster, I'm Emma Swan and the woman over there is Doctor Regina Mills."

"I'm Frank Foster and my beautiful wife is Carol. Nice to meet you Emma and Doctor Mills. Thank you for looking after my granddaughter Doctor Mills."

"It's nice to meet you both but I'm not a medical doctor I've got a PHD not a MD. I'm a Forensic Anthropologist and in charge of all the forensic evidence in this case."

"You must be really proud of your girlfriend Miss Swan" Carol replied.

"Please it's Emma and Regina isn't my girlfriend."

"Well not yet" Lily muttered.

Regina and Emma went bright red. Mr and Mrs Foster smirked at them as they walked out towards the nurse's station. "I can't believe it I didn't think I would ever see my family again; I know I haven't known you two long but I want to thank you for everything you've done for me. Will you come and visit me when I'm settled?" Lily asked.

Emma and Regina walked over to Lily and pulled her into a hug. "Of course we will kid won't we Regina."

Regina knew that it wouldn't be in the best interest for the case for her to visit Lily but she knew Emma would visit her whenever she could and Regina would after the case is solved. "Yes we will Lily, we would love to stay in touch with you." The Fosters came back in from signing the discharge papers and Lily started to pack her stuff up. "Thank you for helping our granddaughter." Lily finished packing and hugged both Emma and Regina again. "We will walk down with you all if that's okay?"

They all walked down to the exit of the hospital in silence. When they made it there, Lily's grandparents hugged both women and thanked them again. Lily hugged them for a third time and Emma tried her hardest to not to cry and she could sense Regina was probably feeling the same. Lily pulled away and walked over to her grandparents. Regina started to walk out of the door when Emma grabbed her arm. "You didn't give me chance to answer you earlier. I would love to go on a date with you Regina."

Regina smiled,walked towards Lily. Emma watched as Lily, her grandparents and Regina all walked out of the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been just over a month since Emma had last seen Regina. They had exchanged a few texts just mainly about the cases progress and Lily. Neither of them mentioned their date. Even though Emma really wanted to ask if Regina was still up for it, she knew Regina was under a lot of stress from work and she didn't want to add to it. Emma had the next few days off so she really wanted to make the most of them. She climbed out of bed and decided if she wanted to see Regina then she should be the one to make it happen. She chucked on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and made her way into the kitchen. She could see that the fridge door was wide open but she thought Ruby was working so she grabbed a banana out of the fruit bowl.

"I'm armed and dangerous, come from behind the fridge slowly with your hands above your head" she ordered.

The fridge door shut and Neal stepped back with his hands above his head.

"Since when did a banana become a weapon?" he asked.

Emma threw the banana at Neal and it smacked him in the head.

"Since it's capable of doing some pretty good damage to unwelcome guests."

"Em, that really hurt next time can you just threaten me and not actually attack me. I didn't realise you were going to be here."

It was the first time Emma had seen Neal since she found out about him and Ruby. "Last time I checked this was my house or did I miss something. Did you become co-owner when you and Ruby got together?" she questioned.

Neal picked the banana off the floor and peeled it. "Don't be like that Em, I thought you were okay with me and Ruby?"

Emma walked over to the fridge, barged Neal out the way. She opened the fridge and grabbed some milk.

"I've just boiled the kettle let me make you a cup of coffee and some breakfast. You always get so hangry in the mornings."

"Making me breakfast isn't going to butter me up and what the hell is hangry?"

Neal grabbed the milk off Emma and made her a cup of coffee.

"It's a mix of hungry and angry" he explained.

"I might have told Ruby I was okay with you two but being okay and waking up to you in my kitchen is a different matter. I would have liked some warning" she huffed.

"Sorry Em, I assumed Ruby told you I was staying a couple of days."

"Well when you assume you make an ASS out of U and ME. I suppose I've got to get used to it, so two days' tops then you're out and I want it down in writing when you're staying so I can arrange somewhere else to stay because I know how loud you two can be in bed."

Neal walked over to the fridge and grabbed some eggs, cheese and bacon.

" How about my famous cheese and bacon omelette and I know you would know how loud I'm in bed but how would you know how loud Ruby was?" He questioned.

Emma took a sip of her coffee and winked at him. Neal's jaw dropped and he tried to speak but he couldn't get his words out. "You...and...Ruby...did...the...nasty?" He stuttered.

Emma placed her coffee on the counter walked over to Neal and slapped his face gently bringing him back to reality.

"No peter the pervert, she's my sister that would be gross the most we've done is kiss during a game of spin the bottle. We've lived together for years so we tend to hear each other."

"Spin the bottle? So was it with like tongues or what?"

"Stop with the questions and make me breakfast I've got stuff to do. Please don't burn down my kitchen."

Emma walked over to the living room grabbed her laptop and decided to do some investigating. If she was to ask Regina on a date she was going to do it properly and romantically which for her was a million miles away from what she was used to. She honestly didn't have any idea where to start and even though he was the last person who's help she wanted he was the only person available.

"Hey, prickhead come here I need your help with something."

"Ask me nicely and I'm all yours."

Emma rolled her eyes and huffed "Fine. Neal can you please come here and help me, I would appreciate it very much."

Neal walked out of the kitchen and over to the settee where Emma was sitting. "You love food so whatever you need help with must be more important than eating, so what's up?"

Emma couldn't believe she was about to ask her ex for dating advice.

"Well, there's this woman."

"What's new, there always is with you Emma."

Emma leaned over and slapped his arm "this time it's different."

"Didn't you say that about Katie, Lana and even crazy Casey" he joked.

"My brain was clouded by sex then but this is different like really different."

"Well what's this woman like then? "he questioned.

Emma opened google on her laptop and typed in the Henry Mills Institute

and there was a picture of Regina was on the first page. Neal picked up the laptop and scrolled through the page. "Sorry to break it to you Em but she's as straight as an arrow."

"How do you know?" She asked

"Well you're not going to like it but before I got with Ruby she was another notch on my bed post."

Emma stood up, stormed over to the kitchen and grabbed a beer off the side. She went to open it but instead she smashed it into the sink. "Fucking fantastic, of course the one woman in London that I could actually have feelings for you've shagged" she yelled. She placed her hand in the sink to pick up the glass and cut her hand open. "For fuck sake could today get any worse" she sobbed.

Emma wasn't one to get emotional over a woman but everything about Regina was totally different. Neal walked over to her grabbed a tea towel and wrapped it around her hand. "Well it's going to get better but you might hate me more than you already do. I've never met that woman in my life I just wanted to see if your feelings were genuine. I didn't realise you were going to go all Hulk on a bottle of beer."

Emma pulled off the tea towel and whacked Neal around the face with it. "Sometimes you can be such an inconsiderate bastard. You should have just taken my word for it and not played one of your stupid games."

"Sorry, let me help you think of something awesome to do to ask her on a date to make up for it."

"Technically you were already helping me so how about while you're staying you do all the cooking and CLEANING then maybe, just maybe I will forgive you."

Neal looked at Emma, looked around the flat and laughed "how hard could it be."

Emma laughed and couldn't wait for Neal to realises how bad living with two girls actually was. On a regular day it's pretty clean just plates to be washed and sides to be wiped but if they are off on a night out then it looks like a tornado has hit the apartment. There's clothes, shoes, make up, food and alcohol all over the apartment. Come to think of it Emma couldn't remember the last time her and Ruby had a girl's night so she decided one was needed while Neal was staying so he could clean up the mess.

Emma walked back over to the settee and picked up her laptop. "So Em, what makes this woman so different to the all the others?" he asked.

"Stop making out that my list of conquests is bigger than yours. We both know that if one of us was to win the slag of the year contest it would be you. To be honest with you Neal I can't even explain to you what makes her different. She's just one of a kind, she's beautiful, smart and slightly funny. I haven't stopped thinking about her from the moment I met her."

"Emma, are you sure she's even really gay?"

"Well no, it's clear she isn't a 100% gay or I doubt even bisexual but there's just something about her."

"What happened to the one rule that all gay girls live by, never fall in love with a straight girl."

"That went out the window the moment I laid eyes on her. But she asked me out on a date so she can't be all that straight. And just let me clarify I'm not in love with her, I barely know her but what I do know I really like."

"What the hell happened to you?" Neal asked.

"What do you mean what happened to me, I could ask you the same?"

"I don't understand what you mean Em, why are you asking me the same questions?"

"I just mean you are a serial cheater Neal, I don't understand how all of a sudden you are now in an exclusive relationship with my best friend. I'm not going to waste my time giving you the whole you hurt my best friend and I will hurt you speech because you should already know that."

"They say it takes the right person to make you realise why it didn't work with anyone else and I believe Ruby is that person for me."

Emma wasn't sure whether to believe Neal, she really wanted to but a leopard never changes its spots.

"It's only fair that I answer your question, nothing happened to me Neal. I'm the same Emma Swan you've known for years. I just don't want to go around living my life under this woman and that women. I'm not saying Regina is the woman for me but I will be damned if I don't at least give it a try, I want to prove to her that I'm different."

Neal leaned over, wrapped his arms around Emma's and pressed a friendly kiss to her temple.

"My little girl is all grown up. On a serious note Em, I'm really proud of you. So how about we figure out something to show this woman that you mean business."

Emma had no idea where to begin, she really wanted to do something unique to ask Regina on a date but she didn't have a romantic bone in her body. Maybe she was thinking too much into this, maybe Regina asked her on a mate date and not an actual date date. That would be just her luck, turn up with a big romantic gesture for Regina only to be told she had gotten the wrong end of the stick.

"Earth to Emma, hello is anybody in there?"

"Shit, I'm sorry I climbed into my own head. What did you say?"

"Just that I'm here to help so let's make a list of possible things that you could do then we can go through them and cross off the no's."

Emma climbed over the back of the settee, walked over to the kitchen and started opening and closing drawers until she finally made it to the drawer she wanted. She pulled out a note pad and a pen, she really wished Ruby would stop reorganising everything, the moment she remembers where everything is Ruby decides to change it again.

She chucked the note pad and pen to Neal, walked to the fridge and grabbed herself a can of Pepsi.

"You're better at the whole romantic stuff so can you make the list of all the stuff you have done in the past and I can make my way through it and see what I can steal and tweak for Regina."

Emma really wanted to see Regina today, she thought maybe seeing Regina would stop her constantly thinking about her. Emma had never felt this way about anyone, she didn't even think it was possible to get feelings for somebody you had just met but then again there was that whole love at first sight saying. Of course she wasn't in love and she wasn't even sure if her feelings for Regina were genuine, she normally wants things she can't have and she is pretty sure Regina will end up being one of those things. Emma's mind drifted back to the moment she met Regina and then every moment they spent together before she watched Regina walk out of the hospital. After a few minutes Emma ran out of things to think about, she climbed off the stool and made her way back over to the settee, she leaned over Neal's shoulder to see he had written about ten things down on the list. She grabbed the note pad, slumped next to him and started crossing things off the list. After carefully considering everything Neal had written she was down to flowers or a love poem. Emma knew she wouldn't even know where to start on a love poem so that one was out to. She decided flowers it was, but she wasn't going to buy any old flowers, she knew the exact way she wanted to ask Regina out. Emma leaned forward, grabbed her laptop off the coffee table and opened up the internet. She typed into the search engine flowers and their meanings. She knew that if she turned up to Regina with a bunch of Red Roses it would not be something Regina would remember so she decided she would pick 12 flowers all with different meanings. She then went on the website for the local florist and decided she would have them delivered to Regina because she couldn't face rejection so if Regina said no then Emma could brush it off but if she delivered them herself she wouldn't be able to hide the disappointment. Emma grabbed her phone and send Regina a text to find out if she was at work today, she knew she couldn't just ask her outright so she thought the best way to do it would be asking about the case.

Hey Regina, Emma here just checking in on the case and to see if everything is good with you :)

Emma placed the phone on the arm of the chair and started to browse the Florists website to see if it had the same flowers on her list. Neal had decided to give Emma space to work all this out by herself so he grabbed some food and made his way back to Ruby's bedroom. Emma stared at the screen for what felt like hours she couldn't concentrate at the task at hand while waiting for Regina's reply.

Hello Emma, it's nice to hear off you. Sorry I haven't been in contact work has been hectic. I haven't been home in almost 3 days but after tonight I will be taking a day or two off. The case is coming along nicely; the police have a suspect they are just trying to find him. Everything is fine with me just exhausted how about you dear?

Emma read the text over and over again, even though it wasn't anything romantic or sweet, Regina did call her dear and that made her stomach do flips. Emma didn't want to give too much away and now she knew that Regina would be at work all day she could put her plan into action.

You want to be careful you don't burn yourself out by working too much, that's good that the police are getting somewhere and I'm good thank you. Keep me posted :)

I'm very well aware that I will burn myself out as you put it, I'm an adult and don't need you to tell me how to take care of myself. I'm glad you are good Miss Swan.

Emma didn't mean her text to come across like she was telling Regina what to do and she didn't expect Regina to take it the wrong way. Emma thought it was a good idea not to send a text back so she carried on picking flowers off her list then making sure the florist had them. After finding the perfect 12 flowers, Emma knew she needed the perfect message to go with them. She sat staring at the screen of her laptop for another twenty minutes before she had finally found the write words. She found the address of Regina's office and hoped she wouldn't be too annoyed that Emma was being unprofessional by sending flowers to her work. Emma typed in her bank details and hovered over the pay button before finally pressing it, she had done it, she was asking Regina Mills on a date now all she could do is wait and hope for the best.

It was just after lunch time and Regina was sick of sitting in front of her computer screen. She had been living in her office for 3 days and even though it wasn't ideal she really wanted to make sure all of the evidence collected had not been contaminated and the chain of custody had been followed completely. Her institute was known for handling everything with a 100% precision making sure there was no room for error. Regina hadn't seen the outside world or interacted with anyone that didn't work for her in what seemed longer than 3 days. After leaving the hospital with Lily and her grandparents, Regina had trouble getting Emma out of her head. She wasn't even sure why but there was just something about the blonde and Regina couldn't put her finger on it. She felt bad that in all their texts they exchange Regina didn't have the guts to mention their date. She really wanted to take Emma out on a date but she was terrified that it would go badly and Emma would have a horrible time. Reading over the texts her and Emma had exchange Regina could see how flirty they got but then Regina would freak out, close down and take their texts back to the professional level. She didn't mean to be so harsh when Emma told her to be careful but she wasn't used to people looking out for her that wasn't family so she didn't know how to deal with it. Regina checked her watch to see that it was 1:30pm and she hadn't eaten anything since last night. She knew it wasn't healthy to skip so many meals but she was so busy working on the case she didn't have time to eat. Regina stood up, grabbed her phone and started walking out of her office. She pushed her door open and was greeted by Sydney.

"Afternoon boss, these came for you. Who's sending you flowers?" he asked.

Regina took the flowers off Sydney, walked back into her office and closed the door in Sydney's face. Regina had no idea who sent her flowers and a bunch of mismatched flowers at that. She knew it was rude to shut the door on Sydney and she must remember to apologise to him later. She's not a rude person normally, she was just in shock. Regina couldn't remember the last time if ever she had received flowers. Thinking back to it her father sent her and Zelena flowers one Valentine's day, but that didn't really count. She made her way back over to her desk and sat down. Regina knew a lot about flowers but some of these she had never seen and she still wasn't sure who sent them to her. She knew the only way to find out who sent them was to open the note but she was slightly nervous. She took a deep breath in and counted to ten before she opened the note.

Regina,

Well where to start, I should probably start by saying Hey it's Emma. I didn't want you to read this whole note and not have a clue who the flowers were off until the end. I know you've been very busy with work and all that, I wasn't sure whether you still wanted to go on a date or not but I thought I would give it a go and ask you on one. I'm not very good at things like this but I wanted to do something different and something you would remember. There is a reason that these flowers are mismatched, I'm guessing you noticed that straight away. I really hope you like them as I put a lot of thought into them and hope you're not angry that I was being unprofessional by sending them to your office.

Almond blossom is the flower of Hope and I picked this flower because I Hope you say yes to a date.

Camellia is the flower that you're adorable which is pretty self-explanatory

Carnation is the flower that says my heart aches for you. I couldn't find a flower that said I am always thinking about you so this was the next best thing

Daffodil is the flower of respect and I will always respect you

Freesia is the flower of trust and I picked that because you can trust me

Orchid is the flower of Beautiful lady and I picked this flower because you are a beautiful lady

Ranunculus is the flower that says I am dazzled by your charms and you are radiant

Tulip is the flower of romance and perfect lover and I hope that this could lead to romance and I will leave the perfect lover part to your imagination

Variegated Tulip is the flower of beautiful eyes because you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen

Violet is the flower of Faithfulness and if you would like to date me then I will be faithful and only date you

White Violet is the flower that says let's take a chance and I want to take a chance on us

Yellow Rose is the flower of friendship and I'm hoping that if a date doesn't work out then we could be friends

So that's the reason for the flowers and I really hope you would like to go on a date with me and I hope you don't think I'm too corny. I would love if you could send me a text letting me know how you feel about a date and then we can go from there.

Emma x

Regina couldn't believe how sweet that was, it was the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her and she didn't know what to think about it. She did like Emma and at the time going on a date seemed a good idea but over the past couple of weeks she thought maybe it wasn't a good idea. She had never been on a date with a woman and even though she never ruled it out and always said she's attracted to the person and not their gender she just wasn't sure anymore. She was extremely attracted to Emma and she couldn't get her out of her head but that's different to actually going on a date with her. Thinking about all this Regina hadn't realised she had tears in her eyes, she was sure they were happy tears though and she thought to hell with it. Emma put so much thought and effort into this, she couldn't turn her down and she did ask Emma out first. Regina grabbed her phone and took a picture of the flowers and the note then sent it to David.

Look at these beautiful flowers that were delivered to my office from the paramedic Emma. She's asked me out on a date and I think I might go x

Regina that's so sweet but why are the flowers so weird? I think you should go out on a date with her and see what happens x

All flowers have different meanings and she even wrote why she picked those specific flowers. It's the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me x

Regina didn't know what she did to deserve this because when she first met Emma she was dreadful and they say first impressions count. She really did want to go on a date with Emma and she didn't care what anyone would think about it. She deserved some happiness in her life and she's not sure if that person was Emma but if she didn't go on a date with her then she would never find out. What's the worst that could happen, they go on the date it goes horrible and they never see each other again or it could go really well and something good could come of it. Regina grabbed her phone again and decided she would bite the bullet and say yes to Emma.

Emma, that was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me and not corny in the slightest. I can't believe you went through so much trouble to ask me on a date. I would really like to go on a date with you. X

Regina had done it, she had agreed to go on a date with Emma and now she had to just sit and wait for a reply. She just hoped that Emma hadn't changed her mind. Regina chucked her old flowers out and placed the ones of Emma in their place. She couldn't help but smile, Regina was on cloud nine and she didn't want to come back down to Earth.


	9. Chapter 9

Emma stared at her phone for a couple more minutes, she couldn't believe the text she had just received. Regina had agreed to go on a date with her, she couldn't contain her excitement. She started bouncing up and down on her settee, after only a few seconds she lost her balance and came crashing down smacking her head on the corner of her coffee table. Emma blacked out and woke up a few seconds later, blood started to pour from her forehead and she couldn't believe her luck. Neal came running out of Ruby's bedroom, helped her off the floor and led her to the bathroom where he knew the first aid kit was kept. He sat Emma down on the side of the bathtub and handed her a piece of tissue.

"Place this on your head while I get out the antiseptic wipes and plasters."

Emma pressed the tissue against her head and winced at the pain.

"You're not coming anywhere near my head until you've put gloves on, I know the places your hands have been" she joked

Neal put the gloves on, opened the antiseptic wipe, took the tissue out of Emma's hand and replaced it with his and the wipe.

"I'm sure you're the one that should be doing this as you're the paramedic."

Emma started to feel rather dizzy and the next thing she knew she threw up all over Neal.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I think I might have a slight case of concussion."

Neal helped Emma up off the bath and walked her over to the toilet.

"I'm going to get changed so if you need to be sick again use the toilet."

Emma led her head on the toilet seat and tried her best not to be sick. She had treated people with concussion but never experienced it herself and if she was honest it just felt like a hangover.

While Emma's head was resting on the toilet seat and the need to be sick had subsided it gave her time to think about what going on a date with Regina would mean. Regina was more caviar and champagne from what Emma could gather and well Emma was a pizza and cold beer type of girl, they couldn't be further away in terms of background and lifestyle. Emma knew none of that should matter if you really like someone but she couldn't help but think how a woman like her would fit into Regina's life. She knew it was too early to be thinking about that because they hadn't even been on one date yet but she couldn't help it. Regina had completely surprised Emma by agreeing to go on a date so she thought maybe she shouldn't judge a book by its cover. After a few minutes, Emma's head started to hurt and right on cue Neal came back into the bathroom carrying a glass of water, painkillers and a bag of frozen peas.

"I spoke to Ruby and she said you've got concussion by the sounds of it so I'm to help you into bed, give you tablets, make you drink water and then you can place this on your head to help the swelling but don't fall asleep."

Neal placed his arm under Emma's, pulled her up then led her to her bedroom.

"Neal I'm a paramedic of course I know how to deal with concussion and you really didn't need to call Ruby."

Neal placed the painkillers, water and peas on Emma's bedside table before helping her into bed. He picked up the painkillers and water, handed them to Emma then sat on the edge of the bed holding the bag of peas.

"Em, why do you have a bag of frozen peas in your freezer that went off nearly 3 years ago?" He asked.

"Well I was going to cook Ruby a Sunday dinner but then we got called into work and I never got around to doing it again."

"Fair enough. I will leave you to get some rest and I will come to check on you in a little bit. Do you need anything?"

"I never thought you would be the one to come to my rescue, maybe you have really changed. Can you just get me my phone please, I never got the chance to text Regina back."

"I told you that I have changed Em, I really want to be a better man for Ruby. I will give you your phone in a couple of hours, right now you need peace and quiet."

Emma wasn't sure who this man was but he wasn't the Neal she knew.

"I suppose you're right but I want it back in two hours so I can text Regina."

Neal leaned over, pressed a kiss to the top of Emma's head and left her to get some sleep.

Emma closed her eyes and woke up to an unexpected guest sitting on the end of her bed.

"What are you doing here? And how did you know where I lived?"

"Well it's very nice to see you to Miss Swan."

"I didn't mean it like that Regina, I'm just surprised that's all. One minute you were in my dreams and the next your sat on the end of my bed."

"Very smooth Miss Swan, would you like a shovel to dig yourself out of that hole" Regina joked.

"I thought telling you that I was dreaming about you would have got me out of the hole."

"It did help, anyway to answer your previous questions I was waiting for you to text me back about our date and I got a bit worried when you didn't because you always seem to have your phone glued to your hand. I rang the hospital and they said you wasn't working so I asked for Ruby and then she told me about your little accident so I asked for your address so I could come and check you were okay."

Emma was truly touched, she couldn't believe that Regina was worried about her, it was a very strange feeling for someone other than Ruby or Granny to worry about her.

"Regina, you honestly didn't need to come all the way over here to check on me"

Emma watched as Regina's body went rigid, she stood up and went to walk out of the room. Emma lept up off the bed, grabbed Regina's arm and pulled her away from the door.

"Let me finish, you didn't need to but I'm really glad you did" she mumbled.

Emma knew that hearing those words made Regina question everything and she was sure Regina was a type of woman that could over analyse a situation in seconds and she knew she had to watch what she said because she didn't want to risk Regina getting scared and bolting.

Emma still had hold of Regina's hand and she led her over to bed, she really wished she hadn't put changing her bedding off because her duvet cover had pizza stains and chocolate marks all over it. They both sat down on the bed, Emma making sure to sit in the right position to hide all the stains.

"If I'm honest I'm not really sure why I came all the way over here. I can remember asking Ruby where you were and hearing you'd had an accident and passed out the next thing I knew I was in my car then I was outside your apartment."

"Well I'm glad for the company and I'm glad I woke up to see your beautiful face and not Neal's ugly mug."

"Oh, was that who the man walking around in the pink robe. I was awfully rude to him, I asked which one was your room and then just barged past him."

"Neal won't mind, it's not like you're a stranger that came here to steal all my stuff."

"He's never met me so to him I am in fact a stranger."

"He's never met you but he knows who you are and what you look like."

"How exactly does he know what I look like?" Regina questioned.

Emma turned a deep shade of red and turned her head away from Regina. Regina placed her hand on her cheek, Emma looked up at her and gave a weak smile then placed her hand on the top of Regina's.

Emma moved her hand away and Regina took hold of it with her other hand.

"Did this happen when you fell too?"

Regina ran her hand over Emma's cuts and Emma pulled her hand away and shoved it under the blanket.

"I'm guessing that it didn't happen when you fell."

"No, it didn't. I suppose I should just tell you the truth."

"Well that would be a good start. I think that we should start this with no secrets."

"I agree, after all honesty is the best policy."

Emma scooted up the bed and Regina followed suit.

"You don't mind if I sit here do you?" Regina asked.

"No of course not, make yourself at home."

Emma took a deep breath and decided to just tell Regina everything she knew it wasn't a big deal she was just a bit embarrassed.

"So, this morning I decided I wanted to ask you out on a date, I told Neal all about you and even googled you so he could see how beautiful you really were and that I wasn't making it up. Well after he seen your picture he told me that I had no chance because you were straight and when I asked how he knew he said because he had slept with you."

Emma didn't get chance to explain anymore because she was interrupted by a rather annoyed Regina.

"Emma I have no clue why he would say that because until today I've never met him."

Emma placed her hand on Regina's lap and she realised that for two people who didn't know each other that much they touched each other quite a lot.

"Regina I know, after I stormed off opened a beer and smashed the bottle he informed me he just said it to find out if my feelings were genuine."

"So, the cuts on your hand are from the beer bottle I take it?"

"Yes, I don't know what got into me but the thought of him having kissed you and having his hands on you made me go a bit crazy. I know it shouldn't have because well it's not any of my business who you've slept with."

"It's not always easy to control your emotions Dear, but if you plan to go crazy over someone that I may or may not have slept with can you just be careful and make sure there isn't glass around."

Emma brushed the hair from behind Regina's ear and smiled. It had only just dawned on her that Regina Mills was in her house, in her bed. Emma knew nothing was going to happen between them but she started to get very nervous, she grabbed her glass of water and downed it. She started to climb out of her bed when Regina gently tugged at her T-shirt.

"You're supposed to be resting, give me the glass I will go to your kitchen and fill it up and then you can tell me how you managed to hurt your head."

Emma handed Regina her glass and she watched as Regina slowly climbed off the bed and left her bedroom. Emma managed to close her eyes for what she thought was a couple of minutes but when she checked the clock on her bedside table she realised she's been sleeping for nearly half hour and Regina still wasn't back. She was just about to get up and see what was keeping her when the bedroom door opened. Emma closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She kept her eyes shut and she felt the bed dip so she slowly opened her eyes.

"I spoke to Neal and he said you never got around to having breakfast or lunch so I rustled you up something, I hope you don't mind."

"No of course I don't mind and it smells delicious."

Regina placed the tray on Emma's lap and Emma picked up her fork and started to eat the omelette, chips and salad Regina had made her.

"I hope it tastes as good as it smells."

Emma took a bite of the omelette and couldn't stop the moan that escaped her mouth.

"Oh my god, this is so good. You sure you don't want to move in here and cook all my meals? Where's yours?" Emma asked.

"Miss Swan do I look like the type that would make a great housewife and I thought it would be rude to make myself some food."

Emma put the tray on the bedside table, climbed out of bed and walked to the kitchen. She grabbed a plate, extra cutlery and poured Regina a glass of water then walked back into her room. She sat back on the bed, grabbed the tray and put half of her food on the other plate and handed it to Regina.

"Here, I'm not going to sit and eat alone and I'm guessing that you've been working so much lately that you haven't really been eating. I got you a glass of water too, I didn't know what else you would like."

Emma watched as Regina took a big bite of the omelette she was surprised when a similar moan to hers left the brunettes mouth.

"That is good even if I do say so myself. Thank you Emma, not many people care whether I've eaten or not but I better head back to work once I've finished this."

"Well if I'm going to be around it's something you will have to get used to. Oh yes I suppose you better had head back to work. I really appreciate you coming over to check on me."

"That's something I'm looking forward to. It's really not a problem and before I go you still have to tell me what happened to your head."

They hadn't even been on their first date yet but Emma knew Regina was something special and for the first time in her life she wasn't slightly scared of what the future held.

"I suppose I do I owe you a story. Okay, well I got your text I got slightly excited and started jumping up and down on the settee then I slipped and fell then I smacked my head and knocked myself out."

"Jumping on the furniture is something a child would do" Regina scorned.

"I know but when you agreed to go on a date with me my childish side took over."

"Well if you want to let your childish side out can you do it when your feet are firmly on the ground, that way I won't have to drive all the way to your house to check on you."

"You didn't need to come and check on me, I suppose you better head back to work" Emma sighed.

Emma didn't mean for it to sound so harsh. She knew Regina was only looking out for her, she just didn't know how to handle it.

"I'm sorry Emma, I didn't mean to snap at you, I know you didn't ask for me to come over and check on you. I just wanted to make sure you were OK and I wouldn't hesitate to do the same again."

"I was just about to apologise to you, I do appreciate you coming over here and it really made my day."

"Well I'm glad it made your day and that you're OK, I better be off and we can make an arraignment for our date when I get back to the office as I've left my diary there."

Emma grabbed Regina's plate, placed it on top of hers, climbed out of bed and Regina followed her. Emma opened her bedroom door, held it open for Regina and she walked through it and Emma followed.

Emma wasn't sure why but for some reason she didn't want Regina to leave even though she knew she had to go back to work. Emma walked over to the kitchen and placed the tray of empty plates on the counter then walked over to her front door and opened it for Regina. Emma started to feel very nervous, she knew Regina had only come over to check on her but she really wanted to give her a kiss to say thank you. She thought maybe not a full-blown kiss but a little peck on the cheek or even on the lips couldn't hurt. Emma could feel Regina's eyes on her and she knew this moment was starting to get rather awkward so she decided to take the plunge.

"Emma, what's the matter? Is your head hurting you, I can stay a little bit longer until you feel better if needs be?"

"No it's not my head, I'm actually starting to feel better. It's just well I was wondering if you would mind if I kissed you?" Emma muttered.

She had no idea why but she felt like a teenager experiencing her first kiss, she put her head down and kept her gaze on the floor. It wasn't that she was embarrassed that she asked, it was more the fact that Regina might reject her. Emma felt a hand on her chin and Regina pushed her head up gently. Emma's face was a deep shade of red and she was nervous as hell but the moment she looked into Regina's dark brown eyes her face returned to its normal complexion and the nerves disappeared.

"I didn't expect you to be the type of woman to get nervous or the type to ask to kiss someone."

"I'm not usually, there's just something about you that makes me want to do everything properly."

"That's one of the sweetest things someone has ever said to me and to answer your question of course I don't mind if you kissed me but you didn't have to ask."

"See I can be sweet and I wanted to be respectful so I thought it was best to ask you."

Emma placed her right hand on Regina's cheek, leaned in and pressed her lips to Regina's. After a few seconds she pulled away and then pressed a kiss to Regina's cheek.

"I really appreciate you being respectful Emma and thank you for a nice couple of hours, I really needed it" Regina admitted.

"I know this is all new to you and I don't want to do anything you would be uncomfortable with. There's no need to thank me I had a nice time and I'm really looking forward to our date."

"Thank you Emma, I will let you know when I'm available for our date, I just hope it's sooner rather than later."

"I'm not going anywhere Regina so when your free then I will just make sure I am. You better head off back to work."

Regina smiled at Emma and walked away from the blonde and Emma couldn't help but watch her walk away and Emma was sure Regina added extra sway to her walk for Emma's benefit. Emma closed her front door and decided she would have a lie down because her head was pounding.

Regina sat in her car outside Emma's apartment for just under ten minutes, every so often she would run her finger across her lips and thing about the kiss she shared with the blonde. She knew it was an innocent kiss but every time she thought about Emma's lips on hers it gave her an extreme case of butterflies. She knew she needed to speak to someone about this but everyone was working on the case. She decided that even though she hadn't spoken to Zelena since their last disagreement she knew that her sister's advice would likely be the best and she would also get to see Bailey. She started her car and made the ten-minute journey to Zelena's. The whole journey she couldn't get Emma out of her head and she knew that what they had was extremely new but she was excited to see where it could go. She pulled up outside Zelena's and decided she would send Emma a text to make sure she was resting; Regina wasn't sure when she became Mother Teresa but she wanted to make sure Emma was looking after herself.

Hey Emma, just wanted to text you to make sure that you are resting and to say I'm not heading back to the office until later but as soon as I arrive back I will check my diary and we can arrange our date xx

Regina placed her phone in her handbag and climbed out of her car. She closed the car door, walked towards Zelena's, put her hand on the doorknob and was just about to open the door when the door opened for her.

"Aunty Gina, I has missed you, where you been?" Bailey asked

"You mean that you have missed me and where have I been" Regina laughed.

"That's what I said, mummy and daddy are out the back garden. Come on I take you to them."

Bailey grabbed Regina's hand and dragged her through the house to the back garden.

"Mummy, Daddy. Aunty Gina is here" he shouted.

"Inside voice darling."

Bailey looked up at Zelena and made his eyes go cross-eyed.

"But Mummy we're outside so why do I need to use my inside voice?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter, how about you go in the kitchen with Daddy and grab Aunty Gina a drink."

"Would you like a glass of water Regina?" Harry asked.

"Yes please Harry."

"I get it for her Daddy."

"You're too little to reach the sink darling so how about you let your dad do it and you can bring it to me."

"Otay."

Bailey grabbed hold of Harry's hand and skipped into the kitchen leaving Regina and Zelena outside. Regina looked at Zelena, smiled then looked around the garden.

"What's wrong?" Zelena asked.

"Excuse me, what do you mean what's wrong?"

"Gina I know when something is on your mind so what is it?"

Regina was just about to tell her sister all about Emma when Bailey came out of the kitchen with her glass of water.

"Daddy said he got a busyness call and won't be back out."

"You mean business call sweetie, how about you go down the bottom of the garden and play with Rusty. I want to have an adult chat with Aunty Gina."

"How long till I'm adult so I can have chats like you do?" he asked.

"Not for a while dear but you know Aunty Gina loves our chats too."

"Yeah but it's not same!" he snapped.

"Watch your tone MR" Zelena ordered.

"Well I'm four really really soon that means I be an adult too."

"You're four next Saturday darling but that doesn't mean you're an adult and believe me you want to be a kid for as long as possible. Now go play with Rusty and then you can write me a list of what you would like for a birthday present."

"I love that idea; I want lots of presents" Bailey squealed.

Bailey ran down the garden calling Rusty and a couple of seconds later Rusty came bouncing out of the house and chased Bailey down the bottom of the garden.

"Right you've got about ten minutes before Bailey comes back up crying because Rusty has knocked him over so start talking."

"There's nothing to talk about."

Regina wasn't sure how Zelena was going to take this but she knew that if Zelena was okay with it then she would have back up when it was time to tell their mother.

"Gina come on don't lie to me, I'm your sister and at one point in our lives we told each other everything and I'm not sure when that stopped but I don't like it."

"You know when it stopped and I know you've been building bridges and I appreciate that even though it was my fault."

"Regina, don't you dare blame yourself, none of it was your fault and we understand why you shut yourself away but that's in the past so come on tell me what's up."

Regina decided just to take the plunge. "I've met someone" Regina admitted.

"You meet people all the time Regina."

"I'm defiantly the smart one in this family, I mean I met someone as in a person I plan to go on a date with."

"Regina Mills has found someone that she wants to date and not just sleep with am I hearing that right?" Zelena questioned.

"Well I will eventually want to sleep with them but for the moment I want to take things slow, I'm doing things different this time around. "

"So, you do actually listen to me when I speak. So come on then tell me all about him, where did you meet him, what's he like?" Zelena inquired.

Regina looked back around the garden, ducked her head and took a deep breath.

"Her name is Emma, I met her at a crime scene, she's a paramedic and beautiful, smart, funny and just perfect" she gushed.

"Excuse me, did you say he was a she?"

"I never actually said the person I met was a man you just assumed."

Regina was waiting for the screaming, shouting and telling her that she was being ridiculous.

"Well, Well, Well Regina Mills has finally come out of the closet, Harry you owe me £10" she called.

"What do you mean I've come out of the closet and why does Harry owe you £10?" she questioned.

"Well, remember in college and you kept going on and on about that girl Rory well me and Harry had a feeling you secretly fancied her and put a bet on. He didn't believe me when I said you could be a lady lover even if you didn't know it. I'm just surprised it's taken you so long to figure it out. I suppose it just takes the right person to show you who you really are."

"I can't believe you've known all this time and never told me, I didn't even know myself well not really and yes I guess it does, look at you and Harry you never dated a ginger before him" Regina joked.

She was really surprised how well Zelena was handling this and even more surprised she knew it was coming. Regina couldn't believe that she had done so well at denying this, it never even crossed her mind that she could be bisexual even though she did think Rory was pretty but she always thought it was in a friendly way.

"We all wanted you to figure it out yourself we just didn't realise it would take you so long" Zelena admitted.

"Zelena what do you mean WE?" she asked.

"Me, Harry, Henry, Finn, Mum, Dad and David of course."

"You all knew; I can't believe it."

Now Regina thought about it when she messaged David about Emma he told her to embrace her inner lesbian. He was his best friend how could he have not told her or at least tried to help her figure it out.

"Gina, yes everybody knew and everybody is perfectly fine with it. Mum will be over the moon to find out you've finally found someone you want to date and get to know."

"She won't care that it's a woman?" Regina questioned.

She knew Cora wouldn't care if Regina was happy and she had a feeling that Emma could be the person to make her happy or at least help her learn how to be happy.

"Regina listen to me; Mum has been waiting for this as much as I have. You know how much she likes things to brag about and now she has a black child and a bisexual one, she will be the talk of all he gatherings and you know how much she loves that."

Zelena was right, their mother loved to brag about her children and everything they have accomplished. When Regina opened her Forensic Institute Cora banged on about it for days and days to anyone who would listen and when Henry lost his virginity she sent it out in the family newsletter. Regina told Cora it should have been the other way around but it was too late because everyone and their uncle knew Henry lost his virginity in the back of his sister's car. Regina loved how close their family was when they were growing up, she loved having an older brother who looked out for her and her and Zelena were always close then when they adopted Henry the house seemed complete. She hated that Finn moved away when he married Megan and Henry was away studying in America so they didn't get much family time anymore. And their mother well she spent 10 months out of the year living in Paris and the only time she was home was for Baileys birthday and Christmas. Of course, she sent cards and presents for birthdays but it's not the same as actually having her there.

"I'm glad, I really don't want to disappoint her or hurt her."

"Well you know she will be here on Saturday for Bailey's party so you can tell her then."

"I think I might, I was really nervous about this and now I don't need to be. I just hope everyone at work is okay with it" she sighed.

"Regina you always do that, you always care about what others think and I don't want you to worry about how people will react to it just concentrate on yourself. Oh my god, I just thought of a great idea."

"I promise I will try not to worry about what other people think and what is that great idea?" Regina asked.

"You should invite Emma to Bailey's party that way we can all meet her."

"Zelena we haven't even had our first date yet don't you think it's a bit too early to meet the family?"

"I was thinking that a party with lots going on could be a good setting, it would be relaxed and you could see if she fits in with our family all in one day. First dates are nerve racking but if there are kids running around and things it will be less nerve racking."

Regina started to think about it, she knew that Saturday was the one day she had off and it would be a decent first date. She would be relaxed because all her family would be there even though people tend to be the opposite at family gatherings but it would be the first time they were together in over a year so there would be a lot of catching up and she would love to show Emma off to them all.

"Fine, I will invite Emma but I'm not forcing her to come so if she says no she says no."

"Good, text her right this second."

"I will text her but she may not reply as she had an accident earlier on so she should be resting" Regina explained.

Good Afternoon Emma, I hope you're resting. I'm currently at my sisters and well I told her about you and she was wondering if you would like to attend my nephew's birthday party on Saturday. I thought it could be our first date as it's the only free day I know I have off but if you don't feel comfortable with that then I completely understand.


	10. Chapter 10

Emma opened her eyes, stretched out her body and rolled over to check the time on her bedside alarm. If Emma was correct she had been sleeping almost 20 hours, she couldn't believe she had fallen asleep when Regina left and only now woken up. She searched the bed for her phone to double check before she even looked at the time she realised she had 3 messages and they were all from a certain beautiful brunette. Emma started to get butterflies, well what she thought butterflies would feel like but then her head started to pound and the contents of her stomach ended up on her lap. "Okay so maybe that wasn't butterflies" she huffed.

She knew Ruby and Neal were both working which meant she would need to clean this up by herself. She placed her phone on the bedside cabinet and started to strip her bed. Emma began to feel sick again and before she knew it she was sick all over herself. With Emma being a paramedic she knew concussion could last a few days, whenever Emma was ill she spent days feeling sorry for herself. She decided to text the one person she knew would come over and take care of her.

Emma: Granny, if you're not busy any chance you could pop over for a little bit. I've got a severe case of concussion and you know how I can't deal with being ill .

Granny: Dear, Ruby told me about it this morning and asked me to come and check on you so I'm in the middle of making you a care package and I will be right over.

Emma knew Granny would always come to the rescue. When Emma found out she was pregnant she told Granny and Granny made sure to take her to be put on the pill, bought her condoms and had the safe sex talk with her and never once judged her. Emma knew that she probably should have had all that before she decided to have sex but the past was the past for a reason. Emma climbed out of bed, stripped her sick filled sheets and carried them to the kitchen so she could wash them. She leaned down, chucked them in the washing machine and when she stood back up she was sick again but luckily this time she made it to the sink. She grabbed a glass and started to run the tap, she really needed a cup of coffee but she didn't want to risk being sick so she decided water would be the better option. After filling her glass, she walked over to the couch, grabbed the fluffy blanket her and Ruby used for sick days then she led down. Emma closed her eyes and started to feel a little bit better, she decided she would lie there until Granny arrived. Twenty minutes went by before Emma remembered that she hadn't read her messages off Regina. She climbed off the couch and made her way back to her bedroom. She really hoped Regina's messages weren't important, she tried to think why Regina would need to text her 3 times and she started to panic. She knew the only important thing Regina could be texting her about was Lily, Emma really hoped nothing had happened to her. She sat down on the bed, leaned over and grabbed her phone. She opened the home screen and this time she had 5 messages. 3 of them were off Regina, one was off Neal and the other off Ruby. She assumed the texts off her friends were just asking was she okay so she decided to check Regina's messages first.

Regina: Good Afternoon Emma, I hope you're resting. I'm currently at my sisters and well I told her about you and she was wondering if you would like to attend my nephew's birthday party on Saturday. I thought it could be our first date as it's the only free day I know I have off but if you don't feel comfortable with that then I completely understand.

Regina: I'm sorry if meeting the family isn't a suitable first date for you. I'm not very good at this, if I'm honest I've never really been on a date.

Regina: If you don't want to come Emma you don't have to but I would appreciate it if you could have the decency to reply to my messages instead of ignoring them!

Oh, my, god. Regina wanted Emma to meet her family, Emma had never been invited to meet anyone's family before and she knew it was a big did Emma say, of course she wanted her date with Regina to be soon but was she prepared to meet the family, what if they didn't like her or she made a fool of herself. She knew with Regina's father being dead she wouldn't need his approval but she wasn't sure what her family situation was like, she knew that she had 3 siblings but had no idea what they were like. Emma re read the messages almost 5 times and knew she needed to text Regina back ASAP.

Emma: Regina, of course I would love to come to your nephew's birthday party. I haven't been ignoring you, this concussion is really kicking my arse. I slept for twenty hours and woke up about an hour ago, I've been sick twice and I feel dreadful. Just let me know the time and place and I will be there xx

Emma hoped that it wasn't too late and Regina would forgive her for not replying right away. Emma was really excited to finally have her first date with Regina. A few minutes went by and Emma's phone started vibrating. She swiped the phone open and the message was off Regina.

Regina: I'm sorry for all the messages Emma, I just assumed you was having second thoughts about going on a date with me or you thought it was too soon to meet my family. The party starts at 12:30pm on Saturday so I will pick you up at 12:00pm if that's okay?

Emma: Regina, of course I'm not having second thoughts and I'm really excited to meet your family. What stuff is your nephew into so I know what to buy him for a present?

Regina: I'm glad and Emma you don't need to buy him anything.

Emma: Regina you can't turn up to a kid's party without a present, that's a sure-fire way to make everyone hate you and well I want to make a good impression.

Regina: He likes the moon, astronauts, bugs, dinosaurs, bones and anything scientific.

Emma: I guess he takes after his aunty then. I will see you Saturday Regina x

Regina: I'm looking forward to it dear x

Emma put her phone on the arm of her couch just as the front door opened.

"I can't stop dear so here's some soup, painkillers, tissues and a bottle of orange juice. If you need anything I will pop back by later."

"Thank you, Granny."

"Anything for my favorite granddaughter."

"You say the same to Ruby" Emma joked.

"Okay, you're both my favorites. Now rest up" Granny ordered.

Granny placed the soup on the kitchen counter, put the juice in the fridge and handed the painkillers and tissues to Emma. Granny pressed a kiss to the top of Emma's head and headed to the front door.

"See you later Granny, I love you."

"I love you too Sweetheart."

Emma leaned under the couch and pulled up her laptop. She needed to find the perfect outfit and perfect birthday present. Emma couldn't remember the last time she bought a new outfit but she wanted to make a good first impression. After ten minutes Emma, had found everything she wanted, she shut the laptop off and placed it back under the couch.

It had been the longest 4 days of Regina's life but her date with Emma was finally here. She pulled up outside Emma's apartment, climbed out of the car and all of a sudden, she started to feel very nauseas. Regina had never really been on a date before and this was a very big first date because Emma was meeting her family. She took a few deep breaths and headed up to Emma's apartment. She knocked the front door and only had to wait a few seconds for Emma to answer. Emma was stood in the door way in a purple and black checked shirt, the buttons were undone and she was wearing a tight black vest top, she had a pair of tight black jeans on and a pair of purple vans. Her hair was curled and clipped to the side.

Regina's mouth went dry and she wasn't sure what to say.

"Woah, you look beautiful."

Emma blushed, leaned towards Regina and kissed her cheek.

"You look beautiful as well, let me just grab Bailey's presents and we can head off."

Emma jogged over to the kitchen grabbed Bailey's presents and a little black box. She placed Bailey's presents on the floor in the corridor and handed Regina the little black box.

"I saw this and thought you would like it."

Regina opened the little black box and inside was a black bracelet that had a love heart carved out of bone in the middle.

"Emma this is beautiful but you didn't need to get me anything it's not my birthday."

"I know but I thought of you, if you don't like it I understand."

"Emma it's beautiful and I love it."

Regina pulled the bracelet out of the box and placed it on her wrist.

Emma leaned down and picked Bailey's presents up off the floor.

"Come on then, let's get going."

Regina and Emma walked down to Regina's car, Regina was just about to open her door when Emma beat her to it.

"After you my lady."

"That's so cheesy" Regina chuckled.

"Sorry" Emma muttered.

"Don't be sorry, I like cheese."

Regina climbed into the car, Emma walked to the passenger side and hopped into the car. The drive to Zelena's was short and silent, Regina figured they were both nervous and neither one knew what to say.

"Is there anyone I should avoid at this party?" Emma questioned.

"Everyone, no I'm kidding. There isn't anyone you need to avoid I don't think."

"That's good then."

"Are you nervous?" Regina asked.

"Just a little bit, how about you?"

"Yes, I am too."

Regina and Emma arrived outside Zelena's about ten minutes later. They sat outside the house until they found the courage to get out of the car. Ten minutes went by, Regina looked at Emma and smiled.

"Ready?"


	11. Chapter 11

Regina grabbed hold of Emma's hand and laced their fingers together. Neither woman mentioned the fact that both their hands were clammy. Emma knew they were both as nervous as each other.

"We don't need to do this if you don't want to" Regina sighed.

Emma squeezed Regina's hand, pulled the brunette in front of her and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Hey, if I didn't want to do this I wouldn't have agreed to come. We're technically only friends so this is a no pressure environment and besides I'm only really here for birthday cake" Emma joked.

Regina swatted Emma's arm and squeezed her hand.

"You sure you're ready because once we walk through that gate there's no going back?" Regina asked.

"It's now or never."

Regina pushed the gate to the back garden open, her and Emma made their entrance. Emma couldn't believe how many people were at the party, there was a long table full of every type of party food imaginable, next to that table was a round table full of presents, there was a bouncy castle, pin the tail on the donkey, a candy cart, a clown and even a small petting zoo. Emma never had a birthday party of her own and wasn't really invited to many as a kid. She couldn't believe how much effort Regina's sister had gone through. Regina and Emma walked further into the garden and every single member of Regina's family all turned to look at the pair. Regina pulled her hand away from Emma's and stood very rigid. Regina didn't mean to and she knew Emma would think she was ashamed of her. Emma turned and walked away.

"Emma where are you going?"

"To put the presents on the present table and then I'm going to head off."

"Please Emma don't do that, I'm sorry I didn't mean to let go of your hand."

Emma was just about to tell Regina it really hurt her feelings when a little boy with brunette hair and dark brown eyes ran up to her.

"Hi, I'm Bailey who is you?" He asked.

Emma knelt in front of the boy and smiled.

"Are you Bailey the birthday boy? I'm Emma Swan, it's nice to meet you."

Bailey held his hand out and Emma took hold of it.

"Yes that's me, Nice to meet you Emma. Mum I've intobuced myself, can I go play?" He shouted.

A tall red head walked from the present table straight over to Emma. She ruffled Baileys hair and kissed his forehead.

"Say hello to your Aunty Gina then you can go."

"Hi Aunty Gina, bye Aunty Gina."

Bailey ran off leaving the adults to talk. Regina leaned over and kissed Zelena's cheek.

"Zelena this is Emma and Emma this is my sister Zelena."

Emma held her hand out but Zelena pulled her into her arms.

"In this family, we hug. It's very nice to meet you Emma."

Zelena let go of Emma and could sense Regina was feeling uncomfortable.

"It's nice to meet you Zelena and thank you for the invitation, I really appreciate it."

"Regina why don't you go and get yourself and Emma a drink while I get to know her."

"What would you like to drink Emma?" Zelena asked.

"Could I just get a Coke please?"

Emma would normally have a beer or something stronger but with this being a kids party she thought it was a good idea to stick to the soft drinks.

"Emma, will you be okay if I leave you with Zelena?"

"Of course she will be, now off you go" Zelena ordered.

Regina leaned into Zelena and whispered in her ear "be nice."

Regina walked off leaving Emma and Zelena alone.

"Is this the part where you say if I break your sisters heart you will break my face?" Emma asked.

"No of course not. She seems to really like you, Regina doesn't normally introduce anyone to the family so she must think you're something special. It's not my place to tell you this and I won't go into details but Regina's last relationship was very traumatic, so if she takes time to open up to you that's why."

Emma was about to ask Zelena what she meant when Regina returned with their drinks.

"Here you go dear."

Regina handed Emma her drink and decided she needed to stop hiding who she was. She pressed a kiss to Emma's right cheek and smiled.

"You've got a lot of people to meet dear, I hope you're ready?" Regina asked.

"Of course."

A few seconds went by and an older woman came marching over to the women. She looked almost identically to Regina just a few years older, Emma assumed she must be Regina's mother.

"Regina Mills how dare you."

Emma didn't know why she was shouting at Regina but she felt like she needed to protect her so she stood next to the brunette and grabbed hold of her hand.

"Mother what's the matter?"

"You introduced your girlfriend to your nephew and sister before you introduced her to me."

Zelena ducked her head and took the presents from Emma's hand.

"I will leave you to it and put these on the table with the rest."

Zelena walked away towards the present table. Regina went a dark shade of red as did Emma.

"Mother, Emma isn't my girlfriend."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs Mills and Regina's right I'm not her girlfriend, this is our first date" Emma explained.

The older woman kissed Emma on the cheek then pulled her into her arms.

"Please call me Cora. It's very nice to meet you Emma, I've heard a lot about you."

"All good I hope?" Emma chuckled.

"Mother, I've not told you anything about Emma."

"I know you haven't dear, your sister filled me in on some things and the rest I found out myself."

Emma wasn't sure what that exactly meant and she was slightly worried, she had a lot of skeletons in her closet and a lot of them she wanted to keep hidden.

"What do you mean you found out the rest yourself?" Regina questioned.

"The internet is a wonderful thing dear, these days all you need is a name and everything you need to know appears right in front of you."

Emma was starting to feel very uncomfortable.

"Well not everything you read on the internet is true mother."

Regina didn't want her mother to bring up Emma's past because she knew how painful it was for her.

Cora turned to Emma, she pursed her lips and crossed her arms.

"So you didn't save three children for a burning car when the fire department told everyone to get away?" Cora asked.

"Well yes, that would be true."

"And you didn't work every hour possible to raise money for the local group home so the children could have a good Christmas?"

"Well yes."

"There you go then Regina the internet is often right."

Regina realised she had a lot to learn about the blonde.

"Emma, you didn't tell me any of that."

"To be honest most people don't believe me and I don't really like to brag."

"It was very nice to meet you Emma and I'm looking forward to getting to know you. I will leave Regina to introduce you to the rest of the family and I will see you both later."

Cora kissed the ladies on the cheek and left them both to it.

"Before I show you off to the rest of my family I just want to say I am truly sorry for letting go of your hand, it's just I'm not used to everyone looking at me and I just panicked" she explained.

Even though Emma should be a little mad, looking into Regina's brown eyes she knew she had no chance at staying mad. She knew it was a lot coming out to a family, well actually she didn't really know because Granny and Ruby knew before she did and they're the only family she has.

Emma brushed a stray hair out of Regina's face, kissed her forehead and smiled.

"I understand, it's just I thought you were ashamed of me" Emma muttered.

Regina grabbed hold of Emma's hand and led her inside the house. She knew everyone would be too busy enjoying the party to disturb them. Regina led them into Zelena's study, closed the door and they both sat down on the desk.

"How could you possibly think I was ashamed of you?"

"It's just we come from two different worlds, you have this huge family, you're so successful and just everything I'm not" Emma sighed.

Emma hated feeling like this but she didn't want any secrets between them. Regina placed her hand underneath Emma's chin and pulled it up until their eyes locked.

"Darling being from two different worlds means nothing, look at Ariel and Prince Eric one lived in the sea and the other lived on land and they made it work."

Emma realised Regina would often use Disney references to get her point across and it was one thing Emma could get used to.

"I suppose you're right."

"That's one thing you need to learn, 99.9% of the time I'm right" Regina joked.

Emma smiled and Regina's heart started to pound in her chest, she had never seen someone with a smile like that.

"It's a super magic smile" she mumbled.

"What did you say?"

"Just that you've got a super magic smile and it lights up the whole room."

Emma started to blush and ducked her head. She rarely got compliments and when she did she didn't know how to react.

"Come on Miss Mills you've got a lot of people to show me off to."

Emma jumped off the desk, held out her hand and helped Regina stand up. They walked out of the study and headed back to the party. They got as far as the back steps before they were stopped by an older couple.

"Grams, Pops I didn't know you were in town."

"We wouldn't miss Baileys birthday party. How is my favourite granddaughter?"

The older woman slapped her husband's arm.

"Henry, we don't have favourites. We love all our grandchildren the same."

"Yes, yes of course we do."

The older man winked at Regina and that resulted in him having a slap around his head.

"I'm being terribly rude, Emma these are my grandparents Olivia and Henry Mills."

"So you're the woman that my daughter in law has been telling me all about."

" It's nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Mills."

"Dear please call us Olivia and Henry, we don't do any of that formal nonsense in this family. So how did the two of you met then?"

"Grams do we really need to discuss this now?" Regina asked.

"She's right Liv, it's Baileys party leave the kids to enjoy themselves and let's head to the bar."

"I suppose you're right, were in town for a couple of weeks so you must let us take you both for a meal so we can get to know you better."

"That's very kind of you but I wouldn't want to put you out."

Regina placed her arm on the lower part of Emma's back.

"Dear there's no point in arguing because what Olivia Mills wants she usually gets."

"Okay then I guess dinner it is."

Olivia smiled at Emma, leaned in and kissed Regina on the cheek and whispered something in her ear.

"Regina ella es muy hermosa, sólo si yo era cincuenta años más joven."

Emma wasn't quite sure what was said but Regina went a very dark shade of red.

"Come on dear stop embarrassing our granddaughter."

Henry grabbed hold of his wife's hand and led her away.

"What did she say to you I couldn't really make it out. Was it in Spanish?" Emma questioned.

"I'm not sure if I want to repeat. Yes, we only speak in Spanish if we don't want anyone to know what we're saying. Which if I'm honest I always find rather rude" Regina muttered.

"Come on it can't have been that bad."

"She told me that you were very beautiful and only if she was 50 years younger."

"Your grandmother fancies me?"

"She went to an all-girls college and as you can imagine a lot of experimenting went on there."

It was Emma's turn to red this time.

"So how good is your Spanish?" Emma asked.

"I'm very fluent, why do you ask?"

Emma ducked her head and shuffled her feet back and forth.

"I sort of, maybe, find the Spanish accent rather sexy" Emma admitted.

Regina leaned in and whispered into Emma's ear "Ahora eso es muy interesante."

"You are the devil Miss Mills, are you going to tell me what you just said?"

"I said now that is very interesting."

Emma had only known this woman a few weeks but she knew getting to know Regina was going to be very interesting.

Regina wasn't sure what came over her, she sucked at flirting and always felt very uncomfortable when trying but with Emma it came so naturally to her.

"You know my hidden talent so it's only fair you tell me yours?"

"It's not really a hidden talent but I enjoy playing the guitar."

"Maybe you could play for me one day?"

"I haven't ever played in front of anyone expect for Ruby but I'm sure I could make the acceptation for you, well if you ask me in Spanish."

Regina swatted the top of Emma's arm.

"Behave Miss Swan, but I promise to ask you in Spanish not here though, you've got lots of people left to meet."

"Okay, so who's next?" Emma asked.

Regina looked around the garden and over by the petting zoo where her brothers were. Regina grabbed Emma's arm and dragged her over to the petting zoo.

"Nice of you to join us Gina."

"I'm sorry. Emma these are my brother Henry and Finn."

"It's nice to meet you both."

"Well done sis, she's hot."

"Thanks Finn but Grams already beat you to it."

"What does that mean?"

"She told Regina that I was beautiful and if she was only 50 years younger" Emma joked.

"Dam Grams got game."

"Emma, you sure you wouldn't like to date the younger more handsome Mills child?" Henry asked.

"Sorry to disappoint you but I would be too much for you to handle little boy."

"Ooo, would you like some ice for that burn little bro?" Finn joked.

Regina couldn't help but smile, Emma was fitting into her family perfectly and everyone seemed to love her.

"Nice to meet you Emma, I'm going to get some food."

"Walk away with your tail between your legs" Finn shouted.

A couple of seconds later Cora came waking over, she swatted Regina, Finns and even Emma's head.

"You three leave him alone" she ordered.

"We can't help it if he's a sensitive mummy's boy, you coddled him to much as a child."

"Like I said leave him alone."

Cora walked off leaving all three of them in stitches.

"Emma, you just got the Mills seal of approval, mum just hit you so you're a part of the family now. I'm starving so I'm going to get some food before Bailey wants to open presents."

Finn walked off leaving Regina and Emma alone. Regina could sense there was something wrong with Emma, she had gone very quiet and Regina wasn't sure whether to ask why.

"Emma look at me, what's wrong? If this is too overwhelming you don't need to stay, we can go if you want?"

"It's not too overwhelming, I'm really enjoying myself. It's just your brother said I was a part of the family and the only family I've got is Ruby and Granny. They've only just met me and their treating me like they've known me for years, I'm not used to it that's all."

"That's just how my family are, to be honest I think because my parents fostered a few kids when we were younger the family was used to just treating them like family."

"I didn't know your parents fostered."

Regina was really excited for Emma to get to know her as well as her getting to know Emma.

"They fostered kids up until I was about 10 I think and then they took a break for a bit and adopted Henry."

"That's awesome."

Emma felt something tugging on the back of her shirt, she turned around and a goat had taken a huge chunk right out the back of it.

"Are you kidding me, this is my favourite shirt" she huffed.

"It looked brand new to me."

Emma stared to blush.

"Okay you got me, I bought a new shirt especially for today."

"That's really sweet."

"Well I wanted to make a good impression."

Emma felt another tug on her shirt, she was just about to shout at the goat when two little arms wrapped around her neck.

"Emma, the goat bit a hole in your top."

"It sure did kid, you having a good birthday?" She asked.

"It's been the bestest birthday ever but I really want to open my presents now"

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself darling, let's go find your Mum and see if you can open your presents yet."

"Can Emma be a horse and carry me around?" Bailey asked.

"Dear I don't think Emma would want to do that right now."

"Don't be silly, come on cowboy Bailey let's go. Neigh, Neigh."

Emma galloped off with Bailey on her back. Regina could hear Emma neighing and Bailey laughing all around the garden. After a few minutes, Emma was swarmed with kids all wanting Emma to be their horse. After ten minutes Emma had galloped around the garden with every kid on her back. Regina could see the blonde was enjoying herself so she went to find Zelena. She walked into the kitchen to find Harry and Zelena putting the finishing touches to Baileys cake. Regina stood in the door way and watched Emma for a couple more minutes.

"She's one of a kind, isn't she?"

Regina started to blush and she headed inside.

"Yes, she really is" Regina replied.

"I can't believe how well she's fitting in. It's like she's been a part of our family for years."

"Don't get used to it, you know I have a habit of messing things up."

"Do you really like her?" Harry asked.

Regina blushed again, looked down and walked over to the fridge.

"Don't be ashamed of your feelings Gina, your allowed to be happy and Emma's amazing. She is my ideal sister in law and everyone seems to love her."

"I'm not ashamed of my feelings Zelena. It's just..."

"I'm going to leave you to it and I will take Emma a beer."

Harry grabbed a beer out of the fridge and left Regina and Zelena to it.

"I know you're guarded sis but if you keep your walls up Emma might get tired of trying to break them down. If you want a relationship with her then you need to be honest about everything and I mean Everything. Don't give up on a chance of happiness because of your past."

"I suppose, I'm just scared because it's a lot to take in and I don't want her to think I'm damaged goods" Regina sighed.

"Don't you dare call yourself damaged goods, you are the strongest, smartest, weirdest woman I know and if she can't accept your past then maybe she's not for you but you won't ever know until you tell her."

"I guess you're right."

"I'm always right, go and save your woman from Harry chatting her ear off about football and then tell Bailey it's time for cake and presents."

Regina kissed Zelena on the cheek and headed back out to the garden. She found Emma and Harry stood with Finn and Henry drinking beer and talking about football. She walked up behind Emma, wrapped her arms around her waist and placed her head-on Emma's shoulders.

"Having fun in the boy's club dear?"

Regina wasn't sure where this affection had come from but for some reason she really liked this side of her.

"Just talking about the game next weekend, we're all going to watch it here on Harry's new TV."

Emma leaned back into Regina's embrace and Regina kissed her on the cheek.

"That sounds like it will be fun. Harry, can you find Bailey and tell him it's present time."

Harry smiled and walked away as did Finn and Henry.

"You don't need to do that."

"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable" Regina sighed.

Regina let go of Emma's waist and started to walk away. Emma grabbed her hand and spun her back around.

"Regina, don't walk away from me, let me explain what I meant."

Emma led Regina over to a quiet corner of the garden and kissed her hand.

"It didn't make me feel uncomfortable, I just meant I don't want you to feel you've got to do it because of earlier."

"Emma one thing my family will tell you is that I don't do anything unless I want to. I'm not sure what it is but with you I feel like I want to be affectionate. I'm not one for PDA and I know we're only friends but I just can't help myself."

"Regina I think we both know that we're more than friends."

Regina leaned in and pressed a kiss to Emma's cheek.

"So you don't mind if I come over and watch the game do you?" Emma asked.

"Of course not, why would I?"

"It's just I don't want you thinking I'm spending too much time with your family. So if you feel like I am you need to tell me."

"Emma I love that you like my family and they like you. It's just a shame your spending time with my brothers and not with me" Regina sighed.

"So I didn't do bad on this date and you actually want to go on another one? I know the perfect compromise..."

Regina cut her off "don't even think about saying I should come and watch the game because that will never happen."

"Do I look silly, I was thinking you could drop me off here then pick me up, take me back to yours and cook for me."

"If you're the one asking me on the second date, shouldn't you be cooking for me?"

"Well I currently have two roommates and I wouldn't want them to get in our way."

"That's a very good point."

A couple of seconds went by and Emma noticed a man had started walking over to the pair. She wasn't sure who he was but she could tell Regina was happy to see him.

"I thought you had plans and couldn't make it?" she asked.

"Bailey wouldn't have let me live it down if his favourite uncle didn't turn up to his party."

"Emma this is my best friend, David this is Emma."

"So this is the hot paramedic. Nice to meet you Emma."

"Nice to meet you David."

"Uncle David, Aunty Gina and Emma it's time for presents so come on."

Bailey grabbed hold of Emma's hand and dragged her away from Regina and David.

"She's beautiful Gina, how was mum with her?"

"Mum loved her and Grams hit on her" Regina joked.

"Grams hit on her, I knew she was a dirty dog. Come on let's go and open present before Bailey has a tantrum."

Regina and David headed over to the present table, all the guests were sitting on the floor and Bailey was sat between Emma's legs. It melted Regina's heart at how taken Bailey was with Emma. Bailey was a very important part of Regina's life so whoever she dated needed to like children.

"Mum I want to open Emma's presents first" Bailey demanded.

Zelena handed Bailey two presents, Bailey started to tear the wrapping paper off the first present.

"Mum, mum, mum look it's a real astronaut outfit" he screeched.

"That's awesome son" Harry replied.

Bailey placed the outfit on the floor and started to tear the wrapping paper off the second present.

"Wow, it's an ant. Emma what does that word say?" he asked.

"It's an Ant Colony kid. I heard that you wanted to be an astronaut entomologist so I thought this was a great start."

"Thank you, Emma, these are the best presents I ever got. I'm going to be the best astronaut Emtomologest in the world."

"Yes you will be kid."

Regina sat next to Emma and Bailey.

"You did well dear."

Zelena passed Henry another present, he was just about to open it when the gate to the back garden swung open. Bailey jumped off Emma's lap and ran over to the man. Emma wasn't sure who he was but Bailey seemed to know him.

"Uncle Leo, where you been, it's been so long?"

Emma looked at Regina and she looked like she had seen a ghost. Zelena stood up and walked over to the man and Bailey.

"Bailey get over here NOW" she ordered.

"I see what Uncle Leo got me first."

Zelena stormed over to Bailey, grabbed his arm and dragged him away. A couple of seconds later Henry, Finn, David and Harry all marched over to the man. They stood in front of him making sure to block his view of Regina. Emma didn't know who he was but she was getting the impression he wasn't welcome.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to find out who leo is and what he did to Regina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: New chapter guys, this has been sat in my folder for a while and I needed to get it finished but i've been so busy. Hope you like it. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Mention of rape, abuse and miscarriages. This is right at the bottom of the chapter so if you still want to read it you can until the bottom.

"I'm here to talk to Regina so I suggest you goons get out of my way" he ordered.

Less than 30 seconds went by before Cora pushed herself up off the floor and stormed over the men.

"Zelena I think it's time to wrap up the party and Emma could you be a dear and drive Regina home?"

Emma wasn't sure who this man was but she got the feeling he wasn't welcome.

"Leo my daughter doesn't want to talk to you, I suggest you leave before I ask my sons to remove you."

"Cora, Regina is a grown woman and can make her own decisions and she doesn't need you to speak for her" he snapped.

"My daughter might be a grown woman but legally you shouldn't be within 50 yards of her. This is my grandsons party and you're running it, so do us all a favour and leave" Cora ordered.

Leo looked over Cora's shoulder and an evil smile slowly spread over his face.

"Gina, please, I just need a couple of minutes to explain why I did what I did."

Everyone watched. She could feel their eyes on her. Waiting for her to either fall apart or pull herself together. They'd been through this once before with her. Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself up off the floor and walked over to her mother and brothers. Emma really wished she could make out what they were saying, she wanted to go over and find out what was going on but she didn't want to impose.

"Leo, you're ruining Bailey's party, I would appreciate it if you would leave."

"Regina, I'm not going anywhere, not until you talk to me!"

There was an intensity in his eyes that she was all too familiar with. Bailey let go of Zelena's hand and ran over to the arguing adults.

"Uncle Leo, why is everyone angry with you?" Bailey asked.

"It's just a bit of a misunderstanding. Why don't you finish opening your presents while I talk to your Aunt?"

"What's a misunderaning?"

"A misunderstanding is something that happens when one grown up thinks one thing has happened and then another grown up disagrees" Leo explained.

Bailey scratched his head, looked up at all the grownups in front of him and sighed.

"Oh that sounds complitated."

The little boy headed back to his mother and the rest of the family. He jumped on Emma's lap and picked another present off the floor. Emma kissed the top of his head and ruffled his hair.

"Emma, go meet Uncle Leo, you will like him."

"Kid, who is Uncle Leo?"

Emma knew she shouldn't really be asking Bailey who this man was, but one thing she learned over the years of working in a hospital is that if you want to know the truth, ask a child.

"Uncle Leo is Aunty Gina's boyfriend, but he not been around for a long time. Mummy told me he been working away" he huffed.

Emma wasn't sure if she heard right, did Bailey just say Regina's boyfriend.

Emma looked over to where Regina was and she could see it was starting to get out of hand. She picked Bailey up, placed him on the floor and stormed over to the group. Cora had hold of Leo's arm and was dragging him out of the garden.

"Leo, if you don't leave I will call the police."

Leo gently shoved Cora, walked over to the porch and sat down on the lawn chair.

"I will leave when I've spoken to Regina."

Regina knew the only way to get rid of Leo was to talk to him but she honestly didn't think she had the strength to talk to him alone. Regina had completely forgotten that Emma was at the party and she didn't want the blonde to hear anything about her past, well, not until she had the chance to explain. She walked over to the blonde, grabbed hold of her hand and dragged her out of the garden.

"Emma, I'm sorry about all this. It's our first date and you've been dragged into my family drama."

"The drama I can handle Regina, but the one thing I can't handle is the lies" she sighed.

Emma really thought that Regina was different but she clearly wasn't. What kind of woman brings a date to a family party when she has a boyfriend.

"Emma, what do you mean lies?" she questioned.

"Give me some credit Regina and don't lie to my face."

"Emma, I have no idea what you're talking about and right now I don't have time for games" Regina snapped.

"I'm assuming you need to get back to your boyfriend, you probably have a lot of catching up to do."

"Emma, I'm rather confused, what do you mean boyfriend?"

"If anyone is confused, it's me. You told me in the hospital that you were single, you ask me on a date, then you invite me to your nephew's party. I really thought we were hitting it off, your family seemed to like me and I really like them."

"I don't understand the problem?"

"The problem is that you have a boyfriend and you've humiliated me" Emma sighed.

"Emma, Leo isn't my boyfriend and I'm not sure why you would think that?"

Regina laced her hand with Emma's and pulled her to sit down on the porch.

"Bailey told me that the man was his Uncle Leo and your boyfriend."

"Let me assure you that Leo is not my boyfriend, our past is well, complicated to say the least. I promise I will tell you all about it, eventually. I can't explain any of it to you now, but I will"

Emma really wanted to believe Regina, but she had been lied to so many times it was difficult to know when someone was telling the truth.

"Regina, I'm going to just call a taxi and head home. When you're ready to talk, you know where I live" Emma snapped.

Emma pushed herself up off the porch and started to walk away.

"Emma, please don't be like this. Let me get rid of Leo and I promise to tell you everything."

"Fine, you've got ten minutes and then I'm leaving."

Regina walked over to Emma, placed a kiss to her cheek and headed back to the party. Emma sat back on the porch, a few minutes later and she was joined by David. He sat next to her, placed his hand on her knee and bumped their shoulders.

"Regina sent me out here to check that you're still here."

Emma stood up, pulled out her phone and checked the time.

"I'm still here for another five minutes and then I'm leaving."

Emma sat back down and David wrapped his arms around Emma's shoulders.

"Emma, please don't leave. Regina really likes you and this whole thing with Leo, is, well…"

"Complicated, Yes, Regina already told me."

"So, you know, I didn't think she would tell you so soon. What Leo did to her, it was horrendous. It took her a very long time to bounce back and truthfully, we never thought she was going to be the same" David explained.

Emma was just about to ask what David meant when she heard raised voices in the garden, a few seconds later Leo was on the floor in front of her feet, followed by Henry and Finn. Leo's nose was bleeding, Henry's knuckles were bloody and Finn's shirt was ripped.

"Don't ever put your hands on our sister again. If we find out that you've tried to contact her, we won't be responsible for our actions" Henry snapped.

Leo crawled across the floor until he reached his car, he grabbed hold of the handle and pulled himself up. The rest of the Mills clan joined them in the garden, Leo climbed into his car and drove away. Emma looked through the family, but Regina was nowhere to be seen and Emma started to panic. Zelena walked over to Emma, leaned down and whispered in her ear. Emma nodded her head, stood up and headed into the house. She walked past the living room where all the children had gathered to watch a film, headed upstairs and stopped outside a locked door. Emma gently knocked at the door and waited a few minutes until the woman inside finally found the courage to unlock it and let her in. Regina slowly pulled the door open, she was stood wearing an oversized shirt which Emma assumed was Harry's, she had a bag of frozen peas held to her eye and her wrist was bandaged up. Emma walked into the bathroom, sat on the edge of the bathtub, laced her fingers with Regina's good hand and pulled her to sit down.

"Did Leo do this to you?" Emma questioned.

Regina nodded.

"It's not the first time, is it?" Emma asked

Regina shook her head this time.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither woman really knew what to say. Images of Leo hurting Regina started to fill Emma's head, the images were so vivid, Emma felt like she was there. Emma let go of Regina's hand and clenched her fist. Regina placed her hand on top of Emma's fist until she unclenched it.

"Darling, please calm down."

Regina laced their fingers together, pulled Emma's hand up to her lips and she pressed a gently kiss to each knuckle.

"I should be the one comforting you."

"I don't need comforting, I've been through much worse and come out the other side."

Regina didn't mean to sound so cold but she hated people thinking of her as a victim.

"Regina, it doesn't matter how much worse you've been through it doesn't make it right. He should have never put his hands on you."

Regina knew she needed to be honest with Emma, she wanted to start fresh and that meant telling Emma everything.

"Emma, I really like you…"

Emma didn't give Regina a chance to carry on, she let go of her hand, stood up and paced back and forth.

"Is this the part where you give me the it's not you, it's me speech. Or is it, I think we would be better off as friends."

Regina placed the bag of peas in the sink, stood up, grabbed Emma by the arm and spun her around. Regina pushed Emma against the wall, placed her hand under the blonde's chin. Regina then grasped at the back of the blonde's neck and collided their lips together, neither woman hesitated. They savoured every second of their first kiss, they both had different reasons to want this to last. Emma was convinced it was a goodbye kiss and Regina had a feeling after she told Emma all about her past, it would be the last kiss the two shared. After a few more minutes and some serious self-control on Emma's behalf, the blonde brought her hand to Regina's chest and gently pushed the brunette away, disconnecting their lips with a pop.

"You just told me you wanted to be friends and now you're kissing me, talk about mixed signals" Emma huffed.

Regina stepped away from the blonde, straightened herself up and then picked up the bag of peas, before setting them back on her eye.

"Dear, I never once said I wanted to be your friend. Before you interrupted I was about to tell you, that I really like you and I believe that we could be something real. But…"

"Here it comes, there's always a but."

"For god sake woman, you're infuriating. If you let me speak for more than five seconds, you would know that I really like you, I want us to go on more dates and really get to know each other, but before that, I really need to tell you something" Regina rambled.

She knew if she didn't rush through what she wanted to say, Emma would likely interrupt her again.

"Regina, you can tell me anything, it won't change how I feel about you" she admitted.

"Emma, I wouldn't be so sure. I've not told anyone about this, well expect my family and David."

Emma wasn't sure what Regina was about to tell her but knew it couldn't be anything good.

"You can tell me anything Regina."

"Promise me, that you won't run. What I'm about to tell you isn't going to be nice to hear."

"I promise, do I need to sit down for this?" she asked.

"That might be for the best."

"Regina, you don't need to tell me anything that you don't want to."

"Emma, I need to do this."

Emma grabbed hold of Regina's hands, kissed them both and leaned over to press a kiss to Regina's right temple.

"I'm ready when you are."

Regina took a deep breath and knew it was now or never.

"When Leo and I first started dating, everything was perfect, he was a real gentleman and all my family loved him. After a couple of months, he asked me to move in with him and that's when he changed. He started to become very possessive, he would always check my phone, always wanted to know where I was, who I was with."

Emma could feel Regina's hands had started to get clammy.

"You don't need to tell me anymore, it can wait."

"No it can't, if I stop, I won't ever tell you."

Emma pressed another kiss to Regina's temple, brushed her fringe out of her eyes and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Ready to carry on?" Emma asked.

"Yes. So the only place he would allow me to go was work, I spent all my time there. He started to turn up at my work to take me home and one night I wasn't ready to leave, I told him I would be another couple of hours and I would drive myself home, well he didn't like that and that was the first time he hit me. Of course, he apologised, he bought me expensive gifts and took me out for dinner the next day. When we got home later that night was the first night he raped me, I wanted to head straight to bed but he didn't take no for an answer. He didn't think it was rape, after all I was his girlfriend, so he believed he could take what he wanted. Every night after that he took whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. For two years, he made my life a misery, I got caught pregnant more times than I can remember, each pregnancy never made it past the 8-week mark, he either beat me until I lost it or I lost them due to stress. After the last miscarriage, he beat me so bad I ended up in hospital and Zelena and David figured out what was going on and they called the police" she sobbed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Regina discuss Regina's past and then continue to enjoy Bailey's Birthday Party. A sweet chapter and a lot of family interaction.

Emma just sat there, she didn't know what to think, she didn't know what to do and she certainly didn't know what to say. She didn't expect Regina's past with Leo to be, well, so dark. She could feel dark brown eyes on her and she knew she needed to say something, she just couldn't find the words. Regina started to panic, maybe she shouldn’t have been so honest with Emma, after all they didn’t really know each other all that well.  
"Emma, dear, please say something" she mumbled.  
There weren’t many times that Regina Mills felt vulnerable, but right now was one of those times. If Emma didn’t say something soon, Regina was going to get up and leave. She couldn’t bare the silence any longer. Regina dropped Emma’s hand, stood up and started to open the bathroom door.  
"Regina, wait. I'm sorry, it was a lot to take in and I don't really know what to say" Emma admitted.  
"I'm sorry" Regina muttered.  
Emma pushed herself off the bath, walked over to Regina and closed the bathroom door. She grabbed hold of Regina's arm and spun the brunette around. Regina dropped her head, she spent the next couple of seconds just staring at her feet, she didn't really know what to do next. After a few more seconds she felt a gentle hand under her chin, Emma pushed Regina's head up until their eyes locked.  
"You never have to apologise to me. This was something very personal and you wanting to share it with me, well, I know it sounds strange but it means a lot. I really like you Regina and nothing from your past could ever change how I feel about you. You're an incredible, accomplished woman, you're smart, beautiful, you're even slightly funny. I would be crazy to let your past put me off, I don't have the greatest past but a wise monkey once said, the past can hurt, but you can either run from it, or learn from."  
Regina was extremely shocked, she never expected Emma to be so calm about this.   
"Personally, I think I'm more than slightly funny. But on a serious note, thank you for being so understanding Emma."  
"If that’s the case, I guess I will need to spend a lot more time with you. That way I can see how funny you really are.”  
Regina raised her eyebrows and lowered her voice to almost a seductive tone.  
"I’m full of surprises Miss Swan, just wait and see.”  
A shiver went through Emma's whole body and went straight to her core.   
"I think it's about time we went back to join the party before your family think we're up to something" Emma joked.  
Regina went a bright shade of red and looked at the floor.  
"Your so cute when you blush, it's like I've got my own little lobster."  
"Hey, I'm not cute, I'm a bad arse."  
"You're extremely cute to me."  
"Fine, don't tell anyone though because I need people to think I'm a cold-hearted bitch."  
Emma leaned over, brushed a strand of hair from Regina's ear and whispered.  
"It can be our little secret."  
This time it was Regina's turn to shiver, she didn't think it was possible to get so turned on by words. She couldn't remember the last time, if ever, that she was so attracted to someone.  
"Do you mind, if we maybe, stay here for a little longer?" Regina asked.  
"We can stay here as long as you need."  
Regina flashed Emma a huge smile and her eyes sparkled like nothing Emma had ever seen before. She hadn’t known Regina for that long but she could already feel herself falling for the brunette.   
Emma's placed her hand on Regina's knee and started to draw circles on the bare skin.   
"Have I told you that you have the most incredible legs, they are just, wow."  
After Emma said that, she started imagining Regina's legs over her shoulders as she was making love to her. Shit, there was that word again. Emma wasn't sure whether she was more embarrassed that she might love Regina or the fact, she's thinking dirty thoughts after everything Regina had just told her. Regina knew she needed to leave the bathroom and join the rest of her family but she was enjoying being alone with Emma. She decided five more minutes in their little bubble couldn’t hurt.  
Just under a minute went by when there was a pounding on the bathroom door.  
"Aunty Gina, Emma. Please get out, I need to take a dump."  
Regina and Emma couldn't contain their laughter. Both women stood up, headed to the bathroom door. Just as Regina was about to open the door Emma spun her around, pushed her against the door and kissed her. It wasn't as passionate as their first kiss, this was more of a gentle kiss, it was over before Regina realised it happened. Emma was the first woman she had properly kissed but she knew she really enjoyed it and kissing the blonde was something she wanted to do a lot more of.  
Regina pulled open the door and Bailey was stood with his hands on his bum, his face was bright red and he was jumping up and down.  
"Bailey, next time you would like to use the bathroom, I would prefer it if you said you need to go for a number two."  
"Uncle David and Uncle Finn told me to say it. I'm sorry."   
"It's okay dear, I will have a word with them."  
"Emma, after I've been to the toilet will you help me into my astronaut outfit?" Bailey asked.  
"If your aunty isn't in a rush to leave then of course I will kid."  
"Aunty Gina, you stay for a long time so Emma can help me."  
"We will see. Now off you go to the toilet, if you need any help just call us."  
"I'm a big boy now, I don't need help" he huffed.  
Bailey rushed into the bathroom, slammed the door and locked it before Regina had chance to tell him not to. The last time he locked the door, he was stuck in the bathroom for almost an hour.  
"You don't mind if we stay do you?" Emma asked.  
"No, of course not. I'm not sure why you would want to stay though, my family can be quite full on and it's rather exhausting."  
"Are you kidding me, this is a family I always wanted. When I was in a crappy foster home, I always hoped my parents would come for me and well they would take me home and lead me to the back garden were there was a huge welcome home banner and all my family were there" Emma admitted.  
Regina's face dropped and she signed. She was just about to try and comfort Emma when the blonde shook her head.   
"Don't do that."  
"Do what?" Regina questioned.  
"Pity me. You've got the pity face on and well as much as I like your beautiful face, right now it's filled with pity."  
"Emma, I don't pity you. I didn't mean to react the way I did. I just can't imagine how it must feel to grow up not knowing who you are."  
Emma wasn't sure what to say, she didn't want to ruin the party by leaving. All she wanted to do was run, because that's what Emma Swan does, when things get real she leaves.  
"Let's forget about it and enjoy the rest of the party."  
Regina just nodded then started to head downstairs, Emma stood at the top of the stairs and admired the brunettes body. She couldn’t wait to one day see what was beneath the clothes. Just as she put her foot on the first step, she heard a crash and water splashing. She turned around and headed back to the bathroom.   
"Bailey, are you okay?"   
For a few seconds, there was just silence.   
"Emma, I fell in, can you help me please."  
Emma put her hand over her mouth and tried to contain her laughter.  
"You've locked the door buddy, I'm not sure if I can get in."  
"Daddy put a lock so he could open from out there. I locked the door and couldn't unlock it before."  
Emma knew the lock was probably some child safety thing. As a teenager she was often locked in rooms so she had learned some skills to unlock doors.  
She pulled a clip from her back pocket, placed it into the lock and after a couple of turns it opened. Emma pushed the door open and found the little boy down the toilet with his little legs dangling over and his trousers and big boy pants around his ankles.  
"How did you manage to fall down there?" she asked.  
"I forgot I had to leave the seat down" he sighed.   
Emma walked over to the boy and picked him up.   
"Let's call your mum or dad to clean you up."  
Bailey placed his little hand on Emma's.  
"Please don't, I say I'm a big boy and then I fell in the toilet, they will laugh at me specially uncle Finn."   
Emma knew she should probably call Zelena or even Regina but the little boy was looking up at her with his big brown eyes and he looked just like his aunty and she knew she couldn't say no.  
"Okay, can you be a big boy and wipe yourself?"  
"Yes. I need dry clothes."  
"While you wipe I will go and find you dry clothes."  
"Thank you."  
Emma knew she had no idea where she was going and she probably shouldn't be walking around someone else house. But what the birthday boy wants, he gets.  
Emma found a closed door with a sign saying, "Baileys room" Emma pushed open the door, looked around the huge room and found a wardrobe right at the back. She rummaged through the drawers and found a top with an astronaut on it, a pair of three quarters, socks and big boy pants. She closed the drawers and headed back out of the room.   
She walked back to the bathroom and Bailey was stood stark naked in the bath.   
"I can't reach, I can't reach. I need you to."  
"I thought you was a big boy?"  
"I am, but everyone needs helps sometimes" he huffed.  
Emma placed the clothes on the radiator and turned on the shower. She held the shower over the little boy, she wasn't sure how his parents would react to a stranger seeing their kid naked but she was sure if she explained it would be fine. Regina headed into the laundry room, grabbed her clothes from the dryer. She had done a pretty good job of getting rid of the blood stains and she didn’t really want to head back out to the party half naked. She got dressed and made her way back out to the garden. Regina looked around the garden and the party was in full swing again. She was glad her sister didn't let Leo ruin the party.  
Zelena walked over to Regina and kissed her on the cheek.  
"Where's the birthday boy and your woman?"  
"Firstly, she is not my woman, this is only our first date and secondly I have no idea."  
"You want her to be though, you love her, you want to kiss her, you want to marry her" Zelena mocked.  
"Well, I've already kissed her and yes I would like to do it again."  
"Oh my god, you had your first lesbian kiss in my bathroom. What was it like?"   
Regina never thought she would be stood at her nephew’s party telling her sister all about her first lesbian kiss, but here she was.  
"Keep your voice down. It was, well, this will sound cliché but it was magical. She made my knees weak, my head spin and made my stomach do flips. She only whispered in my ear but it set my whole body on fire, I've never been so attracted to anyone in my entire life" Regina admitted.   
"Okay, that was a lot to admit in one breath and I can't believe how open you’re being about your feelings, this isn't the Regina I know. Did you tell her about Leo?"  
Regina didn't know why but she felt different, she felt happy and happiness was hard to come by for Regina Mills. She had always been content with her life but now she felt genuine happiness and it was all thanks to a certain blonde.   
"A lot has changed and she was very understanding and told me she likes me too much to let my past scare her away. Speaking of Emma, I'm going to try and find her."  
Regina kissed her sister and headed back inside the house to find the blonde. She checked the living room, kitchen, office and laundry room but there was no sign of her. She opened the front door and peered her head out but still no sign of Emma, then she heard singing coming from upstairs.   
"Oh, I just can't wait to be king."  
Regina headed upstairs and followed the singing until she came to the bathroom. There she found Emma and Bailey singing the lion king at the top of their voices while Emma got the little boy dressed. Regina just stood in the doorway and watched the pair. Neither one had noticed she was there. Emma pulled Baileys top over his head, just before she pulled it all the way down she started to blow raspberries on the little boy’s stomach.   
Bailey started to squeal after a few seconds of trying to get away from Emma he noticed Regina in the doorway.  
"Aunty Gina, Aunty Gina. Save me from the monster" he giggled.  
Emma hadn't even realised they had an audience, she was having way too much fun.   
"I think we might be able to defeat the monster if we tickle her."  
"Regina, don't you dare" Emma warned.  
"What are you going to do about it Miss Swan?"  
"Yeah, what are you gunna do about it Miss Swan" Bailey mocked.  
Regina dived onto the floor and held the blonde down while Bailey tickled her belly. The blonde hated being tickled but to see Regina and Bailey having so much fun was worth it. After a few more minutes two more party guests were stood in the doorway.  
"Maybe we should move the party up here, it looks a lot more fun" Zelena joked.  
"Aunty Gina and me were tickling Emma."  
"Aunty Gina and I" Zelena corrected.  
"That's what I said" he huffed.  
Regina pulled Emma up off the floor and the blonde finished helping Bailey get dressed.  
Zelena furrowed her brows, looked down at the wet clothes and shook her head.   
Emma stood up, ruffled Baileys hair and leaned over to his mother.  
"I will explain after" she whispered.  
Zelena smiled and nodded.  
Harry kissed his wife and picked up his son. Bailey tried to hide it but a huge yawn escaped his little mouth.  
"Come on birthday boy, I think you need a nap."  
"But, but, dad. Big boys don't have to nap" he sighed.  
"I'm a big girl kid and well I love to have a nap after work" Emma admitted.  
"Fine, I will have a little nap but only if Emma takes me" he ordered.  
Emma wasn't sure what to do, did she follow the little boy’s orders or tell him it was best if his dad took him.  
"I don't think..."   
"Emma, he seems to be very taken with you so if you’re not uncomfortable by it then of course you can put him down for his nap. It will give us some time to tidy up and maybe sneak in a glass of W.I.N.E or two" Harry joked.  
Emma nodded, she picked Bailey out of his father’s arms and headed towards his bedroom.   
"Come on then kid lets go and slay some dragons and kiss some princesses."  
"Ewww, girls have cooties" he stated.  
All the adults looked at one another and started to laugh. Emma knew she should really check in with Regina but she didn't want to leave the little boy waiting.  
Regina could sense Emma's hesitance.  
"It's okay, I will see you downstairs in a little while. Okay?"   
Emma held her one had up and showed Regina her fingers and mouthed.   
"Five minutes’ tops."  
As much as she enjoyed spending time with Bailey, she could really do with some adult time.  
Zelena and Harry headed back downstairs and just as Regina put her first foot on the stairs she quickly turned around.  
"Do you mind if I gate-crash?" She asked  
"Of course, we don't, do we kid. The more the merrier."  
"Yes, the more the mirriorer."  
Emma walked into Baileys bedroom followed by Regina. She pulled his shoes, socks and bottoms off and then helped him into bed.  
"Emma, can you tell me a story?"  
"It's been a long time since I've had to make up a story but I will try."  
Regina leaned over the bed, brushed a strand of blonde hair away from Emma's ear and whispered, "it won't take him long to be asleep so he won't care what the story is."  
"Ready kid?"  
Bailey grabbed his teddy and placed him under the blanket and nodded his head.  
"Okay. So once upon a time there was this astronaut princess named Regina and under her castle was a horrible monster. No matter how many times the Princess asked the monster to leave the castle he wouldn't. Then one day a very beautiful knight called Emma came to visit the Princess and the Knight told the Princess that they should run away together. Even though the Princess was scared, she decided to leave with the Knight. Later that night they got inside the Princesses rocket and blasted off. The Princess and the Knight lived happily ever after."  
Bailey looked up at Emma scratched his eyebrow.  
"That's good that Regina and Emma lived happily ever after. I hope the real Regina and Emma do too."  
He yawned a few times, rolled over on his side and after a few seconds he was asleep.  
“I wish I found it that easy to fall asleep.”  
Regina stood up, grabbed hold of Emma’s hand and led her out of Bailey’s room.  
“Hey, where are we going?” she asked.  
Regina pushed Emma against the wall and ran her hands through the blonde’s hair. She closed her eyes and was just about to kiss Emma when the pair were interrupted.   
“Get a room” Henry gagged.   
“You’re so childish.”  
“But you still love me.”  
“Only because I have to” Regina huffed.  
Henry headed into the bathroom leaving his sister to it. Regina’s phone started to vibrate, she pulled the phone from her back pocket and huffed when she seen who the message was from.   
“That doesn’t seem good, everything okay?” Emma asked.  
“It’s the office, they need me to go in ASAP they have a lead on the case.”  
“I guess our date is over then.”  
“I guess it is. I’m sorry, I really wish I didn’t have to leave…”  
“Don’t apologise, you never have to apologise to me. I know how important your work is to you and especially how important this case is. This was an amazing first date and I can’t wait for our next one.”  
Regina and Emma headed downstairs and said their goodbyes. Just as they were walking out of the garden, Zelena grabbed Emma’s arm and pulled her to one side.   
“Get in the car, Emma will be there in a moment.”  
“Is everything okay?” Emma asked.  
“Everything is fine. I just want to thank you for being so understanding about the Leo situation and for being so amazing with Bailey. Our door is open anytime, you don’t need Regina to bring you over.”  
The rest of the family walked over to Emma and all gave their finally hugs.  
“You’re part of the family now dear.”  
“Yeah blondie, it will be nice to have a sister that appreciates Football” Henry joked.  
“I appreciate Football” Zelena huffed.  
“Babe, you appreciate the football players that’s not really the same thing. Us men need a woman who understands the offside rule.”  
“What the hell is that?” she questioned.  
“Basically, a player is offside if he is nearer the opponents goal than both the ball and the second-last opponent when his team-mate plays the ball” Emma explained.  
“Regina needs to marry her before I do” Finn laughed.  
“Zelena will you tell Bailey I said bye and I promise to be over soon to help him with his astronaut suit.”  
“Of course, I will, now you better head off before Regina starts to worry.”  
Emma closed the back gate, made her way to the car and tried to stop the tears from falling. She knew they weren’t sad tears, in fact they were quite the opposite. She finally had a family, she knew that they weren’t really her family but for them to take her in with open arms it meant a lot. She really liked Regina and she would do whatever it took to keep the brunette around. Emma opened the car door, sat down and tried to wipe her tears without Regina seeing but it didn’t work.  
“What did they say to you? I will kill them if they said something to hurt you” Regina snapped.  
Regina opened the car door, put one foot on the ground and pushed herself off the chair. Emma quickly leaned over, grabbed Regina’s arm and pulled her back in the car.  
“They told me I was a part of the family, Zelena said I was welcome to pop by whenever I wanted and well Finn said if you don’t marry me, he will.”  
Regina understood why Emma was crying, she had always wanted a family and suddenly, she had been given one and she didn’t expect it at all. Regina didn’t even expect it; her family were never very warm and welcoming towards Leo or anyone else she had dated for that matter. Regina knew Emma was different and it wasn’t just because she was a woman.  
“Finn can back off, one it’s too early to be taking about marriage and secondly if any Mills sibling will be marrying you, it will be me.”  
“I like jealousy on you, it’s very sexy” Emma husked.  
“Behave Miss Swan. Let’s get you home so I can head to work.”  
Regina drove Emma home and the whole way Emma just sat staring out the window. Regina started to get anxious, since she had met the blonde, she hadn’t been able to shut her up but for the last ten minutes Emma hadn’t said a word.  
“Is everything okay?”  
Emma didn’t say a word she just continued to stare out the window, she wasn’t even sure why she wasn’t being so quiet. Emma turned to Regina, smiled and nodded her head.  
“Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything. If you’re having second thoughts about us or if today was a bit full on for you then that’s fine.”  
Emma placed her hand on Regina’s knee and squeezed it.   
“Can you pull over for a second?” she asked.  
Regina’s stomach started to do knots, what if Emma had changed her mind and couldn’t handle her past. Regina pulled into a nearby side street, she turned the engine off and undid her seatbelt so she could turn to face Emma.  
“I’m not having second thoughts about us and today wasn’t full on, it was the right amount of crazy. I really enjoyed every second of today and your family are so lovely. It’s just I always put 110% of myself into every situation, well every situation in my life expect for dating. I’ve never met someone I like as much as you. I’m a fuck and chuck kind of girl, I never get to know a woman for more than one night. But with you everything feels different and I couldn’t imagine hurting you, I want to know everything about you and I want to tell you everything about myself. I want to be the person that shows you that you deserve the world and I’m just worried, well, that I might invest so much of myself into this and you might realise that we’re from very two different worlds and that this is not for you. Don’t get me wrong, I would pick myself up and dust myself off, it’s just I’m not used to having these feelings and I’m not really sure what to do with them” Emma admitted.  
It was Regina’s turn to just sit there, she didn’t expect the blonde to be so honest and she honestly didn’t want to get hurt either, this was a big step for her. Not only could her sexuality damage her career, it could change the way everyone seen her. She knew Emma was worth all that, her family had accepted it and they loved Emma so anyone else could go to hell. Regina brushed Emma’s hair out of her face, pressed a gently kiss to her cheek and then one to her lips.  
“I can’t always promise this will be easy, we both have demons but if we promise to take it day by day and talk about any issues then I’m sure it will be okay. It’s only our first date but it’s obvious we have feelings for one another, if either of us get scared then we will discuss it. Just promise me you won’t run, I can’t deal with you disappearing on me with no explanation and if you get bored and want to see other people then you also need to tell me.”  
“I promise, but as for the see other people, you are the only woman I want to see. This is new, scary but very exciting and I really want to see where this could go. As much as I hate saying this, you better get me home.”  
Regina raised her eyebrows and smirked.  
“That’s not what I meant.”  
Regina started the engine and continued the short journey to Emma’s apartment. They pulled up outside and neither woman wanted to say goodbye, they sat there staring into each other eyes for what seemed like a lifetime but was probably a couple of minutes. Emma knew if she didn’t leave now then she would spend the rest of the night just sat there. She undid her seat belt just as Regina’s phone started to vibrate, Regina cancelled the call and placed the phone on silent.   
“You can’t do that, they need you. They’re just going to keep calling.”  
“I’m very aware of that, that’s why I put my phone on silent. But I suppose you’re right, they need me. If I don’t leave now, I won’t ever leave.”  
Emma wasn’t sure when she turned into such a soppy person but she really didn’t want to leave.   
“Promise me that we won’t wait too long for our next date?”  
“I promise, the next day that we are both off we will have our second date and maybe we could go and visit Lilly, I’m sure she would like that” Regina replied.  
“That sounds awesome, it would be good to check in on her.”  
Emma leaned forward and rested her forehead against Regina’s, she pulled Regina into a searing kiss, she nipped the brunettes bottom lip and ran her hands through Regina’s hair. The need for air was too great and both woman pulled away. Regina ran her thumb across Emma’s swollen lips, it was a slight touch but it sent shivers through Emma’s body.   
“I better get going” Emma sighed.  
“I will speak to you tonight to arrange our second date.”  
Emma pressed two more kisses to Regina’s lips and climbed out of the car.  
“Don’t work too hard and I will speak to you tonight.”  
Regina smiled and Emma closed the door and just watched as Regina drove away.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina thinks that Emma has given up on her after finding out about Leo but it was one big misunderstanding

It had been just over two weeks since Baileys party, just over two weeks since Regina had last seen Emma. They had exchanged text messages almost every other day but with them both being extremely busy they hadn’t had chance to go on a second date.   
Regina really enjoyed speaking to Emma and every message the blonde sent her gave her butterflies, the last text she had received was over three days ago and Regina was worried that she had done something wrong. She decided maybe it was time to cut ties with Miss Swan, after all she had revealed her deepest darkest secret and Emma had responded by going MIA. Regina thought back to the afternoon of Baileys party, she tried to remember EVERYTHING that had happened but all her brain would allow her to recall was her first real kiss with Emma. The kiss was like nothing she had ever experienced, it was passionate but gently at the same time, it made her knees weak and her head feel fuzzy. Regina tapped her fingers on the desk, looked at all the files sprawled all over the place then looked over to the clock. It was 1am and she hadn’t been home in nearly a week. The police had a strong lead on who the Station Serial Killer was and that meant Regina’s files on the case had to be perfect because her team would be called up to the stand to testify. Another hour went by and Regina decided it was a good idea to grab her stuff and head home. She packed up her stuff, turned the lights off and locked up her office. She turned the rest of the lights off in the lab and headed to the front door. She pulled the door open and was greeted by an unexpected guest, an unexpected guest that was holding Chinese food.  
“Miss Swan, it’s 2:00am what exactly are you doing here?”  
Emma wasn’t sure why they had gone back to using last names because the last time they spoke everything was fine between them.  
“I was passing, seen your car outside and knew it was likely you would still be working so I thought you could do with some food.”  
“Well, as you can see I’m on my way home and not really in the mood for company” Regina sighed.  
“Regina, what the fuck?”   
“Excuse me?”  
“I’m rather confused, have I done something wrong?”  
“Dear, it’s late and I’m in no mood to discuss this right now.”  
“Don’t do that, don’t shut me out. I thought we were finally getting somewhere so what the hell happened?”  
“I thought that as well and then you went silent on me. I told you something very personal and you responded by ignoring my texts and then showing up at my work place at two in the morning. Talk about mixed signals” Regina snapped.  
Emma was even more confused now.  
“Regina, I didn’t go silent on you. Did you not get my message?”  
“Clearly not Miss Swan, I haven’t had a single text message in three days.”  
“Not a text message, I dropped my phone in the bath and the moment I got out I called your lab and left a message with some guy.”  
“Emma, I didn’t get no message. If you had called then I would have been given the message.”  
“Regina, are you calling me a liar?” Emma questioned.  
Emma had been called a lot in her life but the one thing she hated was when people would call her a liar, because that was one thing Emma Swan wasn’t.  
“No, I’m just saying that my staff are very competent and if you left a message I would have been given it.”  
Emma didn’t want to have to explain herself but she didn’t want to lose Regina over a misunderstanding.   
“I rang your office and spoke to some man, his name was something like Steven, Samuel…”  
“Sydney?”  
“Yes, that was it. His name was Sydney, I asked him to explain that my phone was broke and that I would text you as soon as it was back up and running. I also gave him Ruby’s number so you could get hold of me if you needed to talk.”  
“Emma, he never gave me that message. I’ve spent the last three days worrying, I thought that you were done with me.”  
Regina felt like an idiot and she wasn’t sure why Sydney didn’t give her the message but she would find out first thing tomorrow.  
Emma placed the Chinese food on the step, grabbed hold of Regina’s hands and kissed them.  
“Regina, how many times do I need to tell you, I’m here for as long as you want me.”  
Regina knew she had been stupid and she needed to let go of all her insecurities but it wasn’t going to happen overnight.  
Emma let go of Regina’s hands, she pushed Regina up against the door. Emma brushed her fingertips over Regina’s cheek and then ran her thumb across the brunette’s lips. Regina’s stomach did a flip and her heart felt as if it was going to jump out of her chest.  
“Can I kiss you?” Emma asked.  
She knew the brunette wouldn’t object but she still felt like she should ask, after all Regina might not feel the same anymore.   
Regina shivered and licked her suddenly dry lips.  
“Yes.”  
The kiss wasn’t what Regina expected, after their first kiss she expected something a bit harder and more demanding. What Regina got was the lightest touch of Emma’s lips against hers, a light graze of teeth over her lower lip and she felt the tip of Emma’s tongue sweeping across her mouth. Regina needed to feel more, she pushed her head forward and bit Emma’s lower lip. Regina crushed their lips together, she moaned as Emma forced her mouth open. Regina closed her lips around Emma’s tongue and ran her fingers through the blonde’s hair. Regina wanted to carry on kissing Emma but the need for air was too great and she pulled back. She looked at Emma’s swollen lips and pressed one more gently kiss to them.   
“How about you grab the food and we head inside?”   
Emma leaned down, grabbed the bag of food and kissed Regina’s cheek.  
“After you my lady.”  
Regina pushed open the door, walked back into her lab and Emma followed her. Regina got a few feet in front of Emma before she realised the blonde wasn’t following her anymore.   
“Is everything okay dear?”   
“Yeah, everything is fine. Just this place is amazing, I didn’t expect it to look like this.”  
“Thank you, I worked hard to make this the foremost Forensic Institute in the country.”  
Regina walked back to Emma, grabbed her hand and led her to her office.  
“Come on or the food will get cold. I promise to give you a tour later.”  
Regina unlocked her office, pushed the door open and led Emma inside.  
“Fuck, this is almost as big as my first apartment.”  
“I know, it is rather over the top. As I’m here pretty much all the time my mother wanted to make sure that my office was as homely as she could make it.”  
“It’s really nice.”  
“Make yourself at home, I will head to the kitchen to grab us some cutlery and plates. Would you like a glass of wine?”  
“This place has a kitchen?”  
“Yes, I wanted to make sure that my employees were able to have home cooked meals and not live on junk food if their here all the time.”  
“You’re full of surprises aren’t you Miss Mills?”  
“What do you mean?” Regina questioned.  
“Well, when we first met, you weren’t exactly the nicest of people. And your nickname is the Ice Queen, I just didn’t expect you to be so caring when it came to people who work for you.”  
Regina looked down at the ground, she knew Emma was right. When they first met she was such a bitch but it was how she was with everyone, her walls are so high that she sometimes forgets that not everyone deserves to be treated badly.  
“They are not just people that work for me Emma, they are more like my family. We spend more time together than any of us spend with our families.”  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”  
“It’s quite all right, you didn’t hurt my feelings. Make yourself at home and I will be right back.”  
“If it’s possible, can I have a can of coke or something fizzy. I haven’t slept in almost 20 hours and I think a glass of wine probably wouldn’t be a good idea.”  
“A can of coke it is.”  
Regina kissed Emma on the forehead and headed to the kitchen. On the way to the kitchen Regina passed Sydney’s office. She stopped just shy of the door, she didn’t want to be intrusive but she needed to check if he took a message off Emma and just forgot to give it to her. She placed a hand on the door and pushed. Sydney never locked his office, Regina pushed the door until it was fully open then walked into his office. She headed straight for his desk, it was a mess and Regina was surprised that he could ever find anything. She looked around for a notebook or post it notes but she couldn’t find anything. She looked over to the overflowing bin, there was a piece of white paper folded up and she could just make out a name and a phone number, she grabbed the piece of paper and opened it. Just as she thought, Sydney took the message and threw it in the bin. Regina thought Sydney was over his little crush but clearly, he wasn’t. She put everything back where it was or where she thought it was and left Sydney’s office. She walked into the kitchen, grabbed two plates, two sets of cutlery, a glass for her wine and a can of coke from the fridge for Emma. She headed back to her office, there she found Emma sitting on the couch with her feet crossed, she had taken off her hoody and she was wearing a tight, white tank top and a black bra and Regina couldn’t help but stare.   
“See anything you like Miss Mills?”   
“Yes, in fact I do. Prawn Crackers are my favourite.”  
Emma picked up a pillow and threw it at Regina.  
“Very funny, now get your sexy butt over here, I’m starving.”  
Regina placed the plates, cutlery and Emma’s can of coke on the table.  
“You dish out the food while I pour myself a glass of wine.”  
Emma opened all the food and plated it up.  
“I’ve given you a bit of everything because I wasn’t sure what you liked.”  
“That’s fine, Chinese is one of my favourite things to eat when I’m working late.”  
Regina picked up her glass of wine, walked over to the couch and sat next to the blonde.  
“This looks delicious Emma, I really appreciate you bringing me food. You didn’t have to but I’m glad you did. I want to apologise, I found this in Sydney’s office and like you said he did take your message.”  
“It’s understandable that he forgot to give you the message, it’s probably hectic here when you’re working on a high profiled case.”  
“He didn’t forget Emma, he took your message, wrote it down on a piece of paper and threw it in the bin. He had no intention of giving me the message.”  
“Why would he do that?” she asked.  
“He used to have feelings for me but I’ve always made it clear we were just friends.”  
“I think he might still have feelings for you.”  
Emma opened her can of coke and took a sip. Regina knew that Emma was probably right and she knew that she would have to talk to Sydney about this.  
“Can we say this is our second date?” Emma asked.  
“It is a very random date but yes I think we can say this is our second date.”  
After both woman had finished their food, Regina cleared the plates and took them to the kitchen. When she returned Emma was sprawled out on the couch and she could hear a faint snore coming from the blonde. Regina guessed that Emma’s body had hit the wall and 20 hours with no sleep was hard on her. She grabbed a blanket from the cupboard and draped it over the blonde. She just stood there and watched Emma sleep for a few minutes. She realised that was rather creepy and started to walk away.  
“Come lie down with me?” Emma mumbled.  
“What?”  
Emma patted the couch in front of her.   
“There’s plenty of room, I want to cuddle you for a little bit, unless you think that’s inappropriate?”  
Regina took her heels off and slowly walked over to the couch. All of a sudden, she felt extremely nervous, she knew it was just a cuddle but being that close to Emma gave her butterflies.  
“It’s just cuddling and there’s nobody here so it’s not inappropriate.”  
Emma moved over and made space for Regina. Regina sat on the edge of the couch and she wasn’t sure what her next move was. Emma sat up and kissed Regina’s shoulder.  
“I can go if you want. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”  
“You’re not making me feel uncomfortable, I’m not used to being intimate with someone that’s all. I know it’s only a cuddle but it’s a big step for me.”  
“I understand, we can take things real slow, this is only our second date after all and you are a woman worth waiting for. I’m willing to go at whatever pace you need. Now come be my little spoon.”  
Regina led down and Emma draped her arm over her waist. She loved how understanding Emma was, she hadn’t met anyone like the blonde and she was going to do anything to make sure Emma stayed around.  
Emma pressed a kiss to Regina’s temple and pulled her in closer. Regina looked over at the clock and it was nearly 3:30am, she knew nobody would be in until 9:00am so she had plenty of time to just close her eyes for a little bit. She heard little snores coming from Emma again. She knew Emma was likely out for the count and she needed to try get some sleep too.  
“Emma, I know you probably can’t hear me but I just wanted to say thank you for one of the most random dates I’ve ever been on. I really like you and really enjoy spending time with you” she admitted.  
Regina’s eyes started to feel drowsy, she cuddled into Emma and closed her eyes.  
“I really like you too.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina opens up to her co-workers about Emma, Sydney get's jealous and throws around some homophobic remarks. Emma comes to the rescue and things get hot between our two ladies

“Aunty Gina, Emma. Wake up."  
Regina opened her eyes, looked around her office and then at her nephew.  
"Shit, what time is it?"  
Bailey ran to the door and peered his head around the corner.  
"Mummy, Aunty Gina is in here and she said a bad word" he called.   
Regina placed her hand on Emma's shoulder and shook her.  
"Emma, dear, wake up."  
A minute later Emma opened her eyes, it took a few seconds for them to adjust to the light and when they did she looked around the room.   
"What time is it?" Emma asked.  
"Well considering Bailey is here, I believe it's 8:45am and I think we should get up."  
"You're a very comfy cuddle buddy by the way."  
"Emma, I'm serious. My staff are due to be here at 9:00am and I don't think it's very professional for them to arrive when your still here. I'm not sure how I would explain that to them me, how am I supposed to justify spending the night on my office couch with you."  
"Oh right, I get it. I better get my stuff and go then" Emma snapped.  
Emma wasn't sure what she expected, of course Regina was going to panic at the thought of her staff knowing about them. Emma started to put her shoes on when Bailey come running back into the office and jumped on her lap.  
"Hi Emma, did you have a sleepover with Aunty Gina too?" he asked.  
"Morning kid, yes I did."  
"Are you spending the day with us too, is that why your here?" he asked.  
His little body couldn't contain his excitement, he started jumping up and down on Emma's lap.  
"I'm sorry kid, I've got to head off."  
A few seconds later and Emma heard a set of heels walking across the tiled floor.  
"Emma, I didn't realise you were here."  
Zelena walked over to the blonde, leaned down and kissed her cheek.  
"Are you spending the day with Regina and Bailey?" She asked.  
"No, she not mummy, she's got to head" Bailey sighed.  
"I think you mean head off" Zelena chuckled.  
"That's what I said" he huffed.  
"That's a shame, Bailey would have really enjoyed that."  
"I would have enjoyed it too but I don't really like sticking around places when I'm an embarrassment."  
"Emma, I didn't say..."  
"Am I missing something?" Zelena asked.  
Emma wasn't in the mood to explain so she decided it was a good idea if she just left.  
"Zelena it was really nice to see you, I'm sorry I can't stick around. Bailey, I will see you soon."  
Emma grabbed her stuff and stormed out of Regina's office.  
"What did you do?" Zelena asked.  
Regina wasn't even sure what she had done.   
"I just said she had better go before anyone comes in for their shift at 9:00am, I didn't want to spend my day explaining why she was here or who she was."  
"So, you had S.E.X then kicked her out, that's real classy Regina. I thought you had finally found the one for you but like always you mess it up."  
"We never had S.E.X, we had Chinese food and fell asleep."  
Regina loved spending time with Bailey but she hated that she had to be conscious about what words she used around him.  
"Regina if you can't see what you've done wrong then we have a serious problem, go after her. Explain that you're a thoughtless B.I.T.C.H and you didn't mean for it to come across as if you were ashamed of her."   
Regina knew Zelena was right, she wasn't very tactful when dealing with these types of situations. She knew she should go and apologise.  
"Mummy, why do you and aunty Gina keep spelling out silly words?"  
"Those words are adult words that's why sweetheart."  
"Oh, okay then."  
Bailey grabbed his backpack out of Zelena’s hands, sat on the couch and pulled out his colouring books.  
“Aunty Gina, I’m going to colour and then we order breakfast okay?”  
“Breakfast?” Regina asked.  
“Yes, he told me he didn’t want breakfast this morning because he has breakfast with you when you look after him.”  
“We haven’t done that for a while” Regina sighed  
Once a week, Regina would watch Bailey at her office. She had started doing it when he was about 6 months old and she had been doing it every week since. However, with work being so stressful she hadn’t been able to watch him in nearly 2 months and she really missed him.  
“I’m just going to say goodbye to Emma and then we can start our day together. How about you make a list of what you would like for breakfast and I will order everything when I get back. You better put chocolate chip pancakes on the top of that list.”  
“Mummy, how do I spell chocolate chip pancakes?”  
Regina pulled on her right heel, stood up and straightened out her dress. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to sleep in it. She started to walk towards her office door when the lab alarm started to sound. Bailey placed his hands on his ears and started to cry.  
"I'm not here to rob evidence or to bomb the place, I was invited." Emma yelled.  
Shit, Regina knew this wasn't good. She ran out of her office and over to the where the commotion was coming from. There she found Sydney, two of her security guards and Emma. They blonde was now in handcuffs being held against the wall.  
"James, please can you uncuff Miss Swan and turn that god damn alarm off, it's scaring my nephew."  
"I'm sorry Ma’am but we can't uncuff her until we know she's not a threat" James explained.  
"Do you honestly think if she was a threat I would know her name, now undo those handcuffs and turn the alarm off" she ordered.  
Even though Emma was pissed off at Regina, she couldn't deny how hot the brunette looked when she was angry. Emma wasn't sure whether she was pissed off or if she was more hurt than anything. It seemed when her and Regina took two steps forward it was like they took 5 steps back. A minute later and Emma's hand were free and the alarm was turned off. James walked back over to the blonde, shook her hand and apologised for the misunderstand.  
"Boss, I'm sorry. I triggered the alarm, I didn't realise we was letting strays in here during work hours."  
"Sydney that was very uncalled for. This is Miss Swan, I believe you spoke to her on the phone."  
Regina knew exactly what she had to do, she need to do some romantic gesture to prove to Emma she wasn't embarrassed of her and really did want her around.  
"I know your all extremely busy but could you all gather around a moment" she shouted.  
All her staff gathered in front of her. Emma couldn't believe how many members of staff Regina had.  
"I've gathered you all here as I have an announcement to make."  
David and August walked through the door just as Regina started making her announcement.  
"You two are late."  
"Sorry" August muttered  
"I will let you off today, I'm currently in the middle of something and haven't got the time or patience to deal with you two."  
"So, what's this announcement then?" Katherine asked.  
Emma leaned over and whispered in Regina's ear.  
"You don't have to do this" she sighed.  
She knew she was being unreasonable and she should have understood why Regina was trying to get her to leave. She's spent months being someone's dirty little secret, she couldn't do it again.  
"Yes, I do. Where was I, right this is Emma Swan. Emma is someone very important to me and she will be getting a clearance card from security so she may come and go as she pleases."   
"Are you telling us that your gay boss?" Sydney spat.  
"I'm in no way discussing my sexuality with any of you, I'm merely explaining that you shall be seeing a lot of Miss Swan."  
She knew if anyone would take it badly it would have been Sydney. Everyone looked over to Emma and smiled. Katherine eventually wandered over to the woman and introduced herself.  
"Nice to meet you Emma, I'm Kathrine. Ignore Sydney, he's probably very pissed that he lost out on Regina to a woman" Katherine laughed.  
"I was never his to begin with Kat, haven't you got work to do."  
"Right, sorry. I better get back to it."  
The moment Katherine walked off Emma was surrounded by people. They all shook her hand, said it was nice to meet her and then went back to work. After everyone had gone back to work, David walked over to Emma and pulled her into a hug.  
"Nice to see you Em, maybe now this one will stop being the ice queen. Emma this is my boyfriend August."  
Emma held her hand out but as she expected August pulled her into his arms.  
"It's nice to meet you Emma, hopefully Regina will stop talking about you. I'm all for lesbian drama but not when I have to listen to it everyday" he joked.  
"It wasn't drama, it was a misunderstanding."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, Emma's phone broke, she phoned here and left a message."  
"Who did she leave a message with?" He asked.  
Regina looked at Sydney and then back to David.  
"Who do you think."  
"I'm guessing the lap dog didn't give you the message. What do you expect Regina, he's in love with you and he probably thought you would give in and go on a date with him.”  
"He's delusional" Regina snorted.  
"Right, well, we better do some work. Emma, we will have to meet up for drinks on the weekend."  
"I will check my rota but I'm up for that."  
"Nice to meet you Emma."  
"You too August."  
Emma wasn't sure what to say next. The only word that came to mind was sorry but she wasn't sure what she was apologising for.   
"Regina, I'm..."  
"Don't you dare. I was the one in the wrong, I didn't mean to react the way I did. I should never have asked you to leave, well I should have done it with a bit more tact. I'm not embarrassed of you, I just like to keep my private and professional life separate" she explained.  
"I understand and I shouldn't have overreacted. It seems like that's the theme between us, one of us does something and the other gets the wrong end of the stick or they overreact."  
Regina knew Emma was right and she just wanted a nice quiet life. She was too old to be playing games.  
"Maybe, we, should..."  
"No, I'm not saying we should give up on this. Every couple has their problems and we’re just getting to know each other so of course there will be bumps in the road.”  
“Did you just call us a couple?” Regina asked.  
“Okay, maybe that was the wrong word to use. I just meant any two people who have just started dating will experience problems. Besides, you’re the best cuddle buddy in the world. My sleep was amazing, even if it was on a cramped couch.”  
“I suppose your right and Miss Swan; my skills go beyond being a great cuddlier” she husked.  
“I better get going then.”  
Emma started to pull open the door, Regina placed her hand on top of Emma’s.  
“Stay for breakfast?” Regina asked.  
Emma pushed the door closed and Regina grabbed hold of her hand.  
“What?”  
“I know Bailey would really love it if you stayed for breakfast, as would I.”  
“I never turn down free food.”  
Regina led Emma back to the office. Regina could feel everybody’s eyes on them but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to hide the real her anymore.  
“Bailey, I have some great news, Emma is going to spend the morning with us.”  
Bailey placed his colouring book on the table, swung his little legs over the edge of the couch and climbed down.  
“Emma, are you really staying for breakfast?”  
“Yes, I really am kid.”  
“Well, I better leave you three to it. Darling, be good for Aunty Gina and Emma and I will see you tonight.”  
Zelena kissed Bailey on the forehead, picked up her back and hugged Regina. Emma walked over to the couch, sat down and picked up Bailey’s colouring book.  
“This is really good kid. So, what are we having for breakfast?”  
“As I left Bailey in charge of making the breakfast list, we probably have a bit of everything. He loves when we order from Sally’s, so I hope you’re hungry.”  
Regina walked over to the table, picked up Bailey’s list and tried to understand what he had written. She knew it was no good, she walked over to her desk and buzzed for Jennifer. A few seconds later Jennifer walked into the office carrying a clip board.  
“What can I do for you Miss Mills?” Jennifer asked.  
“Morning Jennifer, I would like you to order some breakfast from Sally’s.”  
“The usual?” she asked.  
“Yes, but as Miss Swan will be joining us, I would like some extra chocolate chip pancakes and two cups of coffee. Emma is there everything you would like?”  
“I would love an egg and bacon roll with lots of tomato ketchup, if that’s okay?”  
“Jennifer could you please add that to the list.”  
Jennifer added everything to her list and left the office.  
“You don’t mind me gate-crashing your breakfast, do you?” Emma questioned.  
“You’re not gate-crashing anything Emma, I invited you.”  
Regina leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to the blonde’s cheek.   
Bailey was sat in front of Regina’s desk playing on the computer, he had his astronaut headphones on, every now and again he would start laughing. Regina always loved hearing him laugh.  
“Is everything okay Bailey?”  
“Yes, I’m just watching the minions on your laptoppy.”  
“If you need to go to the toilet then you need to tell one of us.”  
“I’m a big boy I don’t need help” he huffed.  
Emma and Regina sat next to each other just enjoying the peace and quiet. After about ten minutes there was a knock on the door.  
“Come in.”  
“Regina, I know you probably don’t want to be disturbed…”  
“Then, why are you?” she questioned.  
“We have a problem, there’s a D.E.A.D B.O.D.Y on the platform and we need a cause of death ASAP.”  
“David, Bailey had headphones in so there is no need to spell anything out.”  
“Hey, uncle David. Are you here to have breakfast with us?” he yelled.  
David walked over to Bailey paused the laptop, took his headphones off and ruffled his hair.  
“There’s no need to shout, I wish I could stay but I’ve got work to do” he sighed.  
“Oh, Okay.”  
Bailey placed his headphones back on, un-paused the laptop and continued to watch his film.  
“David, you know when Bailey is here I don’t start work until he goes for his nap.”  
“I know, but the police need cause of death like yesterday.”  
“David, I hired Sydney so he could be me when I can’t be around.”  
“You’re not going to like this but Sydney is packing his stuff up and leaving.”  
David headed out of the office and Regina knew she needed to sort this out fast.  
“Do you mind staying here with Bailey while I go and sort this out?”   
“Of course not, take your time.”  
Emma leaned over, squeezed Regina’s thigh and kissed her cheek.  
Regina stood up, stormed out of her office and gently closed the door. She had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well and she didn’t want to risk Bailey hearing any of it.  
“What the hell is going on?”   
“Sydney has decided that he no longer wants to work here and is packing his stuff up as we speak” Katherine explained.  
“What happened for him to come to that decision?”  
“Isn’t it obvious.”  
Regina didn’t have chance to answer because Sydney came storming out of his office.  
“Sydney don’t you think this is ridiculous?”  
“I’m not being ridiculous, I can’t work for someone like you” he snapped.  
“Excuse me, what do you mean someone like you?”  
“A lesbian, it’s disgusting. The bible states you should not lie with a man as with a woman, it’s an abomination, Leviticus 18:22.”  
“First things first, I’m not a lesbian and my sexuality is none of your concern, secondly you have a problem with my sexuality but you are happy to spend time with David and August outside work. My sexuality isn’t the problem is it, the problem is that for years you’ve been in love with me and I don’t feel the same.”  
Regina was trying her hardest to stay calm.   
“I don’t know how I was ever in love with someone like you, you are going to burn in hell.”  
Emma wasn’t sure what was going on but when she heard Sydney start yelling at Regina she knew she needed to intervene. She looked over at Bailey and he was still watching the laptop. She jumped off the couch, opened the door and walked over to Regina.  
“Is everything okay here?” she asked.  
“Yes dear, everything is fine.”  
“Yes dear” Sydney mocked.   
“That’s very childish. Sydney, I think it’s time for you to leave” David sighed.  
“I think it’s time that I leave as well. Regina, I think you’ve made a terrible mistake, we could have been something real but instead you’ve chose this DYKE” he spat.  
“James could you and Dennis please escort Sydney from the building.”  
James grabbed hold of one arm and Dennis grabbed hold of the other.  
“I’m more than capable of leaving on my own” he snapped.  
Sydney struggled out of the security guard’s arms and as he pushed them away his elbow smashed Regina in the face.  
“Ow” she cried.  
“Well, at least you will have something to remember me by. I hope you enjoy your life filled with sin” he laughed.  
Emma couldn’t contain her anger any longer, she grabbed hold of Sydney’s arm and dragged him to the front door. She opened the door and threw him to the floor.  
“If I ever see your face around here again, I won’t be responsible for my actions. Now piss off before I do something I will regret.”  
Emma slammed the door and walked back over to Regina. She placed her hand on Regina’s cheek.  
“Are you okay?”  
“It stings like a bitch.”  
“Let’s get you some ice to put on that.”  
Regina couldn’t believe how Emma had come to her rescue and she had to admit it was really hot. Despite the pain in her face, Regina really wanted to kiss Emma but she couldn’t do that in front of her staff. She had never been a big fan of PDA and now was no different. She grabbed hold of Emma’s hand and dragged her into Sydney’s now empty office. She closed the door, pushed Emma against it and looked the blonde in the eyes.  
“Regina, you need to put some ice on that eye.”  
Regina’s gaze moved down to Emma’s lips.  
“Not until you kiss me.”  
Regina didn’t wait for her response. Regina’s firm mouth met Emma’s, her body pushed Emma against the closed door. Regina then pressed herself flush against Emma, blood thundered in her temples, blocking out the pain coming from her face. Emma couldn’t help but part her lips, Regina’s tongue slid into Emma’s mouth and tangled with hers. With her free hand, she caressed the back of Emma’s neck and wove her fingers in the blonde’s hair. Suddenly, her lips left Emma’s mouth and she pressed gently kisses along her jaw line, before running her tongue down to the crook of Emma’s neck. Regina nipped at Emma’s pulse point a few times and each time she would sooth the spot with her tongue. Regina kissed back up Emma’s neck, she ran her thumb over the blondes swollen lips and pressed one more kiss to her lips.   
“I’m sorry about that, I don’t know where that came from. It was just so hot watching you deal with Sydney and I just couldn’t help myself. It was very inappropriate, I told you I wasn’t ready for our relationship to get physical and I’m giving you mixed signals” she sighed.  
Emma tried to slow her breathing, she didn’t expect any of that when she woke up this morning.   
“Don’t apologise, hormones just take over sometimes. I understand that you’re not ready for us to take our relationship to the next level and I will wait until you are ready. I will never push you into something you don’t want to do Regina, that’s not who I am.”  
Regina smiled, kissed Emma’s cheek and kissed her forehead.  
“Thank you, now let’s go get some breakfast.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter has taken me so long but hopefully it was worth the wait.
> 
> It's Regina and Emma's third date and things don't go to plan.

Emma pulled off her uniform, chucked it on the floor and started the shower. She waited a few seconds until the water was hot, she stepped in submerging herself for a moment. The water soothed her aching muscles, after leaving Regina and Bailey she headed straight to the hospital and she hadn’t been home since. It was one of the longest, hardest most stressful shifts in a long time. They were a paramedic down so everyone had to pitch in but Emma seemed to be the only one that was doing any extra work. She closed her eyes, thinking of Regina, remembering their last kiss, it was so unexpected and so hot. After their kiss, they went and enjoyed their morning with Bailey. Emma loved spending time with the pair, she couldn’t wait to do it again but tonight she had her third date with Regina. Lathering soap in her hair, she pulled her hand back, having felt something sticky. Reaching into her hair, she pulled out what looked like…a clump of blood? Brow furrowed, she ran her fingers through her hair and washed away any remaining blood. She turned off the water, climbed out of the shower and towelled herself dry. Walking into her bedroom with one towel wrapped around her body, as she rubbed a smaller towel against her damp hair, she headed to the wardrobe. She pulled out a few items, walked over to her bed and laid the clothes on her bed. She wasn’t sure what Regina had planned for their date, the brunette was very insistent on being the one to plan everything so Emma reluctantly handed over the reins. She walked over to her underwear drawer, pulled out a black laced bra and knickers. Emma stepped into her knickers pulled them over thighs, she clasped her bra behind her back and picked up her phone. She checked the time, she had about another hour until Regina was picking her up. She picked up the first outfit, pulled the dress over her head and walked over to her wardrobe to grab a pair of heels. She observed herself in the mirror. She wore a long black dress with a slit up the side and a pair of heels, she pulled the dress over her head and threw it on the floor.  
“One down, three to go.”  
She grabbed another dress, pulled it over her head and zipped up the back. She walked into her bathroom, checked herself out in the mirror and decided this was the outfit for her. She wore a short red dress and black high heels. It was only the second outfit she had tried on, she was sure this was sexy enough to drive Regina crazy. The front of the dress was cut low enough to show a measure of cleavage but left something to the imagination. Emma ran her hands through her hair, she grabbed the hairdryer off the sink and started to dry her hair. After about 5 minutes her hair was nearly dry, her curls fell nicely just past her shoulders. Emma pulled out her make up bag and began to fix her face. Emma normally didn’t use much make up but when she did she it was only to highlight her natural beauty. She touched up her cheeks, applied a little mascara to her eyelashes and put on some lipstick. She looked in the mirror, satisfied with what she saw, she headed back into her bedroom.  
“Don’t wear that” Ruby called as she watched her best friend come out of the bathroom.  
Raising her brows and placing her hands on her hips, she turned to face Ruby.  
“You wear blue and green together, you can’t give me fashion advice and besides I look hot.”  
Ruby just gave her best friend a sly grin and sprawled out over the bed.  
“You know what we’re doing, don’t you?”  
She sighed, turned back to her wardrobe and looked at all the clothes surrounding her. Emma hardly ever gave over control and right now her nerves were all over the place. She pulled outfit after outfit off the hangers and chucked them onto her bed. After her wardrobe was finally empty, she turned around and sat on the floor.  
“I hate you” she sighed.  
“Don’t blame me, blame Regina.”  
“I wish you could just give me a clue, at least I would know what to wear.”  
“How about I don’t give you a clue, but I pick out your outfit?” Ruby asked.  
“Fine.”  
Ruby jumped off the bed, scrambled through the pile of clothes and pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans, a white tight tank top and Emma’s famous black leather jacket.   
“Isn’t this too casual?” Emma asked.  
“No, the jeans make your arse look amazing and you always look good in your leather jacket. Grab my black ankle boots and you’re good to go.”  
Emma pulled off the dress, threw it on the floor and pulled on the jeans and tank top. She grabbed her jacket, pushed her feet into Ruby’s boots and stood up.  
“How do I look?”  
“Hot, if I was gay and you weren’t my sister then I would totally do you” Ruby joked.  
Emma swatted Ruby’s arm.  
“Any chance you can clean up this mess, Regina will be here in a minute.”  
“I suppose, have a nice date and try to keep your knickers on. I know how you get when it comes to a third date.”  
“Regina is different, sex is off the table until she is 100% ready.”  
“Wow Em, she really has changed you.”  
“I know, I hate to admit it but I like this side of me.”  
“I like it too, now off you go. You don’t want to keep Regina waiting.”

Regina pulled up outside of Emma’s apartment, she looked into the mirror and checked her makeup and then made sure her hair was in the right spot. She stepped out of the car, straightened her shirt and brushed down her jeans. The outfit wasn’t something she would usually pick but she hoped Emma liked it. Regina walked into the building and up the stairs until she reached Emma’s front door. She felt her heart racing and her hands started to get sweaty. Before knocking the door, she took a deep breath to calm herself. Regina didn’t know why she was so nervous, after all it was only their third date. Shit, it was the third date. Everyone knew the third date was the sex date and Regina wasn’t ready for that. Of course, she was sexually attracted to Emma and if Emma was a guy they probably would have sex by now. There were a few reasons why Regina wasn’t ready to have sex with Emma, firstly Emma was a woman, secondly, she really liked Emma and didn’t want to ruin anything by having sex too soon and thirdly she was worried that she wouldn’t be any good at it. She had always been very good in bed but that’s because guys were usually easily pleased and she didn’t want to disappoint Emma. Regina shook her head and pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, she didn’t want anything to ruin her date with Emma. Regina decided if she didn’t knock the door now then she wouldn’t at all. She took one last deep breath. Just as she went to knock the door, her phone started to ring. She pulled the phone from her back pocket and swiped it open.

“Hello, Zelena calm down. Okay, where are you. I will be there as soon as I can.”

Regina placed her phone back in her pocket, ran out of the hallway and down the stairs. She unlocked her car, jump inside and drove off towards the hospital. 

“Ruby, did you hear voices out in the hallway?” Emma asked.  
“I’m not sure, maybe you should go and check.”  
Emma jumped off the chair, walked towards the front door and pulled it open. She looked up and down the hallway but there wasn’t anyone out there. Emma looked at the kitchen clock, Regina should have been here by now. There was one thing she knew about the brunette and that was that Regina was always on time.  
“I’m sure I heard Regina, what if she got cold feet or what if something happened to her on the way over?”   
Emma started to panic, what if something really had happened to Regina. She walked over to the kitchen and jumped up on the counter.  
“Emma, don’t think like that. I know how excited Regina was for your date, something important must have come up.”  
Emma didn’t know what to believe, if something important had come up why didn’t Regina send her a message. Emma wasn’t sure if she should send Regina a message to check if everything was okay. She jumped off the counter, walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of beer.   
“If I’ve been stood up I might as well drown my sorrows” she sighed.

Regina pulled up outside the hospital, parked the car and made her way inside. She headed straight for the lift, after about 5 minutes she gave up waiting and decided to use the stairs. She climbed the 7 flights of stairs and finally made it to the children’s ward. She stormed over to the nurse’s station and slammed her hand on the desk.  
“I’m here to see Bailey Williams-Mills.”  
The nurse looked up to Regina and then back to her computer screen.   
“EXCUSE ME.”  
“I’m currently on my break, you will have to come back in ten minutes.”  
Regina was about ready to explode, she slammed her hand on the desk again. The nurse placed her headphones back on and continued to eat her sandwich.  
“Are you kidding me, this is a fucking hospital. How can they hire such incompetent people” she snapped.  
“Regina we’re in here.”  
Regina walked into Bailey’s room. The little boy was sat on the bed with his leg in a cast and a deep cut on his forehead.   
“What happened?” she asked.  
“He fell down the stairs and hit his head on one of Harry’s golf clubs. I didn’t expect you to rush straight over here, aren’t you supposed to be on a date with Emma”  
“Did he lose consciousness…Oh Shit, Emma.”  
“Yes, he did and what do you mean, Oh shit, Emma?” Zelena asked.  
“Well when you rang me, I was outside Emma’s apartment and as soon as I heard Bailey was hurt I just left. Emma is going to hate me, she’s going to think I cancelled our date.”  
Regina couldn’t believe she had forgot about Emma, she was so excited for their date and she had ruined it. She hoped Emma would understand, after all she knew how much Bailey meant to her.  
“Just send Emma a message explaining and do something to make it up to her.”  
“What if she doesn’t believe me, I can’t believe I might have blown my only real chance of happiness” she sighed.  
“I need to ask the nurse a question, can you watch Bailey for me?”  
“Of course I can, has he been given a head CT yet?”  
“No, they told me he didn’t need one.”  
“If he lost consciousness then they should have done one to check there isn’t any bleeding. When you go and speak to the nurse tell them you have been advised by a doctor that a head CT is necessary.”  
Zelena kissed Regina on the cheek and walked out into the corridor. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled down to Emma’s number.

Hello Emma, It’s Zelena. I understand you had a date with Regina today and she never turned up. I’m so sorry, she was outside your apartment when I called to tell her that Bailey was in hospital. She would still love to see you so is there any chance you could pop by hers around 6:00pm tonight? Xx

Zelena placed her phone in her pocket and headed back into Bailey’s room.   
“Did you speak to the nurse?” Regina asked.  
“No, she was still on her break.”  
“This is a hospital, if one nurse is on her break then there should be another one in her place. The NHS has really gone downhill.”  
“Regina, the shape of the NHS is not really important right now. You need to figure out a way to make it up to Emma.”  
“I’m not the romantic type, I wouldn’t have the first clue what to do” Regina sighed.  
She couldn’t remember the last time she was romantic, if ever.  
“Aunty Gina, when my best friend in school made me sad, she sung me a song.”  
“Bailey, how long have you been awake?” Zelena asked.  
“I woke up around the time Aunty Gina said I need a kitty scan. What is a kitty scan?” he questioned.  
“It’s a CT scan darling, it takes pictures of your brain” Regina explained.  
“That sounds cool, but why?”  
“It’s used when you bump your head.”  
“Like I did?”  
“Yes, like you did.”   
“Aunty Gina?”  
“Yes darling?”  
“Why did you make Emma sad, don’t you want to be her friend anymore?”  
Regina wasn’t sure how to explain this to her nephew, she knew he wouldn’t really understand.  
“Of course, I want to be Emma’s friend. I was supposed to take Emma out today. When I went to pick her up I found out you were in the hospital and I rushed straight over here without telling her.”  
“Aunty Gina, Emma must be worried about you. I remember when I didn’t tell Mummy and Daddy that I was going to DJs after school and they were really worried about me. You should always tell a grown up where you’re going.”  
Regina had to admit even though he had a broken leg and a bump to the head he was still the smartest boy she knew.  
“Regina, I’ve told Emma that you would like to make it up to her and she will be arriving at yours around 6:00pm. You have two hours to come up with something really good.”  
Regina didn’t think two hours was long enough, she didn’t have a clue where to start.  
“What if Emma doesn’t show up?” she asked.  
“Aunty Gina, Emma really likes you and when someone really likes you then they will always show up no matter what. Isn’t that right Mummy?”  
“Yes, it is.”  
“Mummy, my leg hurts can I go back to sleep?” Bailey asked.  
“Of course darling.”  
Bailey closed his eyes, rolled over and wrapped his arm around his teddy.  
“How are you going to make it up to Emma?” Zelena asked.  
“I have an idea but I will need to lend Harry’s guitar. I just hope Emma turns up.”

“RUBY” Emma yelled.  
Ruby jumped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and ran into Emma’s bedroom.  
“What’s wrong?”  
“Regina had to rush to the hospital because Bailey had an accident. She wants me to go over to hers at 6:00pm so she can make it up. I don’t what to do.”  
“Regina had a good excuse as to why she couldn’t make the date so I think you should give her the benefit of the doubt.”  
“I understand that she needed to be at the hospital but she was stood right outside she could have knocked the door and explained or sent me a message” she sighed.  
“Emma stop being so selfish. Put yourself in Regina’s shoes, if I called you to tell you Granny was in hospital you wouldn’t think twice about leaving to rush over to the hospital.”  
“I suppose you’re right.”

It was almost 6:00pm, Regina had just got back from Zelena’s and she had everything she needed to hopefully make this up to Emma. She just hoped that the blonde showed up. She started to feel sick and her hands started to get sweaty. It had been almost ten years since she held a guitar. Regina put the finishing touches to her plan and checked the time. It was 6:15pm and Emma was nowhere to be seen, Regina was starting to worry that she wasn’t going to turn up. Emma pulled up outside the address she was given and couldn’t believe the how big the house was. She parked the car, checked the time and realised she was nearly twenty minutes late. She jumped out of the car, locked her yellow bug and walked up the long path. She stood outside the huge door, Emma gently knocked on the door and waited patiently, a few seconds later she heard Regina.  
"The doors open."  
Emma pushed opened the door and was rather surprised by what was on the other side. On the other side of the door was red and pink rose petals on the floor. On the banister, was a pink post-it note with instructions to follow the petals. Emma started to panic, did Regina think she needed to apologise with sex. Regina had made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t ready to take their relationship to the next level and Emma completely understood that.  
"Regina, babe, could you come out here please?"  
"Emma, you can stop freaking out. I promise it's not what you think okay."  
Emma wasn't sure how the brunette always knew what she was thinking and a lot of the time she thought it was rather intrusive but then she remembered Regina couldn't help it.  
"I'm not sure what you mean."   
Emma tried to play coy and thought she had an advantage as Regina couldn't see her.  
"You thought I dragged you all the way over here so I could have my wicked way with you, but you’re wrong. Now if you would like to follow the Rose petals then all will be revealed."  
Regina wasn’t starting to feel very nervous, she wasn’t sure if this was a good idea but it was too late to back out now.  
Emma followed the rose petals into Regina’s living room, there she found Regina sitting on a chair with a guitar on her lap.  
“Regina, what are you doing?” Emma asked.  
“Okay, well, I felt really bad that I ruined our date and even worse that I didn’t tell you I couldn’t make it. I was with Bailey and Zelena at the hospital and Bailey said that when his friend made him sad she sang him a song. I’m not really a romantic person but I can play a guitar and sing a little.”  
“You’re going to sing for me?”  
“I’m going to at least try. I haven’t picked up a guitar in nearly 10 years so I apologise if isn’t any good.”  
“Regina, you don’t have to do this. I know why you couldn’t make our date and you don’t need to make it up to me. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”  
“Miss Swan, I don’t feel uncomfortable now if you would please sit down.”  
Emma sat down on the arm of the chair and faced Regina. Regina sucked in a deep breath, she started to pluck at the guitar and began to hum. Regina looked up from the guitar, looked into Emma eyes and began to sing. Her voice was soft and slightly raspy and it went straight to Emma’s soul.

When I look into your face, there's no more dreaming  
When I look into your eyes, there's no more words  
Butterflies, long drives, in sunset evenings  
Basically you can knock me off the ea-aa-aa-aa-a-arth

Got a laugh that could catch, and a smile that  
Could take over my brain, in fact it has  
Miss you when you're gone, and time drags on  
Who knew people could fall so fast?

Cause there's nowhere else I'd rather be  
No one else I'd rather see  
Controlling every part of me  
I love skipping a beat, every time you speak

And no one's never made me feel this way  
That's why I want to tell you every day

When I look into your face there's no more dreaming  
When I look into your eyes there's no more words  
Butterflies long drives in the sunset evenings  
Basically, you can knock me off the ea-aa-aa-aa-a-arth

Got a body to die for, eyes that I smile for  
Realized you were special, the first night that I saw you  
When you grabbed me, that's when you had me  
Now you've got me any time, and I'll make you happy

Let's go places no one goes  
Tell me things no one knows  
I look at you just the way you like  
So you'll know what you'll do with me tonight  
And no one's ever made me feel this way  
That's why I want to tell you every day

When I look into your face there's no more dreaming  
When I look into your eyes there's no more words  
Butterflies long drives in the sunset evenings  
Basically you can knock me off the ea-aa-aa-aa-a-arth

And I must conclude, all I see is you  
I done being 'old me' and breaking all the rules  
Well you could take me, show me who  
I could be, and just be me with you  
I want you to know all the good and bad  
'Cause accept that makes me, who I am  
And no one's ever made me feel this way  
That's why I wanna tell you every day

Butterflies long drives in the sunset evenings  
Basically, you can knock me off the ea-aa-aa-aa-a-arth  
When I look into your face there's no more dreaming  
When I look into your eyes there's no more words

Butterflies long drives in the sunset evenings  
Basically, you can knock me off the ea-aa-aa-aa-a-arth  
Butterflies long drives in the sunset evenings  
Basically, you can knock me off the ea-aa-aa-aa-a-arth

Emma was speechless, that was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for her.  
“Regina, that was beautiful. Do you really feel like that?” Emma asked.  
Regina didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t very good at discussing her feelings but she knew if she didn’t find the courage to do this now, she wouldn’t.  
“Yes, I really do. Emma, I know we haven’t know each other very long and this is only our third date but honestly you drive me crazy, when we’re apart I can’t stop thinking about you and every time my phone goes off I hope it’s you. What I’m trying to say is, Emma Swan will you be my girlfriend?”  
Emma was speechless again; did she hear right. Did Regina just ask her to be her girlfriend.  
“Come again?”  
“Emma, will you be my girlfriend?”  
“Yes, Yes, Yes of course I will.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Regina have been together for a month and in the life of Emma Swan that is a huge achievement and she plans something special to celebrate. Bailey and a surprise guest makes an apperance

It had been just over a month since Emma and Regina made their relationship official, to most people that wouldn’t be a big deal but for Emma it was a huge achievement. Emma wanted to do something to mark their first month together. Even though they hadn’t spent much time together over the last month, it was perfect nevertheless. Work had been hectic, so they decided to book some time off and spend it together. Regina had spent the last week at Emma’s, they had enjoyed each other’s company without being called into work. It was Sunday morning and their week off was coming to an end, they were due back to work tomorrow so Emma decided today was the day to put her plan into action. Emma had arranged for Zelena to drop Bailey off with her at 10:00am then they were heading to the park were a surprise guest would be joining them for the day. Emma looked over at her clock, it was 8:30am. She hadn’t seen this time on a Sunday in a long time. She climbed out of bed, grabbed her hoody and headed to the kitchen.   
“Morning.”  
“Morning Ruby, what you are doing awake?” Emma asked.  
“I’m covering Killian’s shift, what about you?”   
“It’s my last day off, I planned to spend the day with Regina and I wanted to start early. We’ve been together a month and I want to celebrate.”  
Emma grabbed two cups from the cupboard, picked up the coffee pot and filled the cups.  
“You’ve been together a month, that’s incredible.”  
“What does that mean?” Emma questioned.  
“Nothing, it’s just I expected you to do something stupid and scare her away.”  
“I don’t get scared easily Miss Lucas”  
Emma felt a pair of arms around her waist and a gentle kiss to her cheek.  
“Morning Dear, did you sleep okay?” Regina asked.  
“Yes, I really did. How about you?”  
“This past week I’ve slept better than I have in months” Regina admitted.   
“I’m glad. I wanted to bring you breakfast in bed so get your sexy butt back into bed” Emma ordered.   
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”  
Regina kissed Emma on the cheek and made her way back to bed. Regina wasn’t used to having someone care for her, but she could get used to it. Regina climbed back into bed, she grabbed her glasses and book from the bedside table. She had read Popcorn Love about ten times. It was one of her favourites, she didn’t like to admit it, but she loved sitting down with a good romance novel after a hard day at work. After about ten minutes Emma came into the bedroom carrying a tray of food.  
“After my breakfast mishaps this week I decked to let Ruby cook our breakfast. We have blueberry pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, toast and orange juice.”  
“Dear, Setting the kitchen on fire isn’t exactly a mishap is it” Regina joked.  
“I was trying to be romantic.”  
Three mornings this week Emma tried to be romantic and cook Regina breakfast. The first morning, she left the bacon in the frying pan too long and it turned to dust, the second morning, Emma tried to make pancakes and most of them got stuck to the celling. On the third morning she decided to stick to something simple, she thought how wrong could porridge go. She filled the bowl with half porridge and half milk, she placed the bowl in the microwave for three minutes. While she waited for the microwave to ping she made two cups of coffee, she was halfway through filling the second cup when she heard a huge bang. Emma ran over to the microwave and it had caught on fire, she grabbed the fire extinguisher and sprayed the microwave. After the third failed attempt she decided it was a good idea if she stayed out of the kitchen.  
Emma placed the tray of food on Regina’s lap and slid into bed next to her.  
“That’s a lot of food for the two of us” Regina joked.  
“We’ve got a busy day ahead of us, so you will need your energy.”  
“What do you mean, we have a busy day ahead of us?” Regina questioned.  
Emma grabbed her fork, stabbed a piece of pancake and shoved it into her mouth.   
“Curiosity killed the cat Miss Mills.”  
“Technically....”  
Emma knew Regina would have some scientific explanation about that, so she decided to stop her. She loved how passionate Regina was about science but today was their last day off and that meant no WORK talk. Emma picked up another piece of pancake but this time she shoved it into Regina’s mouth. Regina swallowed the pancake and took a sip of orange juice. After about forty-five minutes they had finished their breakfast and were dressed ready for the day. It took Regina about fifteen minutes to decide what to wear as Emma wouldn’t tell her where they were going. Regina sat on the edge of the bed, pulled on her shoes and waited for Emma to get out of the bathroom. Emma ran her hands through her hair and checked herself out in the mirror one more time. She headed out of the bathroom, walked over to Regina, leaned down and pressed a kiss to the brunette’s cheek.  
“You look beautiful.”  
“Emma, I’m wearing jeans and one of your tank tops and leather jacket. I hardly think I look beautiful” she replied.  
“Good point, you look hot.”  
Emma straddled Regina and pushed her back on the bed. She started pressing gentle kisses to her neck. Regina tried her hardest, but she couldn’t stop the little moans that escaped her mouth. The sexual tension between them had been ridiculous over the past month but neither woman wanted to ruin anything by jumping into bed too fast and after all Regina had only slept with men. She was extremely worried that she wouldn’t be able to make Emma feel good. Emma started to kiss her way down Regina’s body when she heard a knock at the front door.  
“Crap, I forgot we had plans. I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” Emma sighed.  
Emma jumped off Regina, pressed a kiss on her forehead and left the bedroom. Regina stood up, headed to the bathroom and ran the cold water. She looked in the mirror and her face was flushed. She splashed her face with some water, placed her hand inside her jeans and slipped a finger inside her underwear. Emma had only kissed her neck for a few minutes, but she was more turned on in those few minutes than she had been with all her sexual partners.   
“I’m definitely gay” she chuckled.  
Regina ran the cold water again and washed her hands. She walked into the bedroom, made the bed then went to find Emma.   
“Aunty Gina, are you sick?” Bailey questioned.  
“Zelena, Bailey I didn’t realise you two were here. No, I’m not sick dear, why do you ask?”  
“Well, you have a red face and when I’m sick mummy tells me she knows because I have a red face and I’m hot. Let me touch your head to see if your hot.”  
Zelena looked at her sister and looked over at Emma, Emma’s face had gone a dark shade of red and she looked down making sure not to make eye contact with Zelena.   
“Aunty Gina isn’t sick. Now give me a kiss and you be a good boy for Aunty Gina and Emma.”  
Zelena picked up Bailey, kissed her son’s cheek and ruffled his hair.   
“Am I missing something?” Regina asked.  
“What do you mean?”  
“I didn’t know that we had plans to watch Bailey today.”  
“It’s the first part of your surprise silly” Bailey replied.  
“My surprise?” Regina questioned.  
“It’s our one-month anniversary and I wanted to celebrate with you. I know it sounds stupid but it’s a big deal for me and I wanted you to enjoy our last day off. So, Bailey is the first part of your surprise and the second part will be at the park” Emma explained.  
“Zelena, you know I hate surprises so why did you agree to this” Regina sighed.  
“Sis, she’s doing a nice thing for you just accept it. I will be back to pick Bailey up later. Have a nice day.”   
Zelena kissed Bailey on the forehead and handed him over to Emma.  
“I love you mummy.”  
“I love you too darling.”  
“Emma, can we tell Aunty Gina what her surprise is now?” Bailey asked.  
“If we tell Aunty Gina now kid, it won’t be a surprise.”  
“Why?”  
“Because if we tell Aunty Gina now before the surprise arrives then she will know what it is” Emma explained.  
“You’ve had lots of surprises off mummy and daddy” Regina replied.  
“I don’t know what one is though, mummy and daddy tell me I’m getting a surprise then they buy me things, I thought it meant I was getting a new toy.”  
Emma looked at Bailey and started laughing.  
“Emma, why are you laughing at me?” Bailey asked.  
“You’re just so damn cute” Emma replied.  
“He takes after me so of course he’s cute. When exactly do I find out the rest of my surprise because it’s giving me anxiety” Regina joked.  
Emma looked at the clock, pulled out her phone and sent a message.  
“Yes, the two of you are the cutest and we can leave now.”


End file.
